


Professor Hop and the Future Wife

by Engineerd



Series: Incredibly Easy Mysteries [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Breaking Up & Making Up, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Post-Game(s), Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:06:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21894106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Engineerd/pseuds/Engineerd
Summary: Hop's entire life story, abridged.(Prequel to Champion Gloria and the Mystery Spouse)
Relationships: Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Series: Incredibly Easy Mysteries [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577104
Comments: 76
Kudos: 563





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is a prequel, so no spoilers for Mystery Spouse here.

Hop stood in the slumbering weald, shuddering as he felt the power of the legendary Pokemon shrunk down to one small pokeball. Zacian chose him -  _ him.  _

“Hop!” 

He looks up and sees Gloria. “Hey,” he said, and a huge smile broke out over his face. “We did it!” 

“You did it!” Gloria said. “You saved that Pokemon!” 

He smiled harder - because he did, didn’t he? “What do you say, rival?” he asked, attaching his new pokeball to the last open spot on his belt. “One last battle, for old times sake?” He didn’t really expect to beat her, of course - Gloria had his partner legendary, and Eternatus, and all of her other team besi-

Gloria surged forward and planted her hands on either side of his jaw and kissed him. 

Hop’s thoughts ground to an instant halt. She’d missed his lips a little bit, the first time, but she was readjusting and - she was kissing him. She was kissing him on the mouth. Champion Gloria, was kissing him, plain old Hop, square on the mouth- 

Gloria pulled back after a few seconds, her eyes scanning his face and her expression worried. “Um,” she stuttered, timid. “I - um, okay, you didn’t - you don’t - I, um - can we still be rivals?”

Hop opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out. His brain was stuck. All the blood in his body was rushing to his face. Have his cheeks ever felt so hot in his life?

“Can we still be friends?” Gloria asked, voice rising in pitch. “Hop?”

“Can I be your boyfriend?” he blurted out, voice suddenly working. 

Gloria’s panicked expression melted into a smile. “You didn’t kiss me back,” she accused, but she was smiling too hard for it to have any sting. 

“Oh, I’ll have to fix that then, won’t I?” he said, reaching out and grabbing her waist. It fit perfectly under his palms. 

She grinned up at him and put her hands on his shoulders, like they were dancing. “You better if you want to be my boyfriend,” she said, and kissed him again. 

She didn’t miss at all that time. 

* * *

Sonia finds them still kissing 10 minutes later. Hop was doing his best to find out what Gloria’s lips felt like from every angle, what the inside of her mouth tasted like without being gross - he hadn’t moved his hands the entire time, because he didn’t know what to do with them. Gloria had moved her hands up to his hair, and he quite liked that, but he couldn’t  _ also _ reach up to put his hands in her hair because that just seemed like too many elbows all in the same spot, he just wasn’t sure about what where, plus Gloria’s hat situation-

Anyway. That was how Sonia found them. She had to clear her throat loudly to get their attention, and they pulled away, blushing, but Gloria made eye contact with him and grabbed his hand as Sonia started teasing. Hop realized then and there that everything in his life would be 1000% percent easier if Gloria was holding his hand through it, so he interrupted Sonia’s gushing about how  _ she knew it  _ to ask, “Hey, Sonia?” 

Sonia raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” 

“So since your last lab assistant turned out to be a criminal, you’re looking for a new one, right?” Hop asked, and squeezed Gloria’s hand. “Do you think I could apply?” 

Sonia looked surprised. “You want to work in a Pokemon lab?” 

“I’d love to,” Hop said, and Gloria squeezed his hand back. “I love helping Pokemon, and I think being a professor one day would be really cool.” 

“Welcome aboard,” Sonia said, and that was the day Hop’s life clicked into place. 

* * *

Gloria, being the champion, had to move to Wyndon semi-full time. Hop’s day-to-day life didn’t change all that much after the gym challenge - he just went to Sonia’s lab, instead of school. 

Leon moved back to Postwick for a little bit. 

“I’m taking the season off,” he explained to Hop and their parents over dinner his first night back home. “I can help your girlfriend with all the administrative champion things well enough over email.” 

“I think the region should move the championship stadium to Postwick,” Hop said. “You’re from here. Gloria’s from here. Clearly all of the champion Pokemon trainers are from this area, it would just be efficient.” 

Leon reached over and tousled Hop’s hair. “Aww, you miss her.” 

Hop scowled and whacked Leon’s hand. “Obviously,” he said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not  _ right.”  _

He texts Gloria more than ever before, and takes a Corviknight taxi to Wyndon as many weekends as he can. Gloria and her mum have a flat uptown where they can see the ferris wheel from their living room. 

Gloria often has matches on Saturdays during the season, and Hop cheers her on from his front-row seat in every one. They’ll go out to dinner afterwards, Gloria putting on more and more ridiculous hats to dodge reporters, and then they’ll go to the park and kiss a little in the starlight and complain about the cold. 

In the off season, it’s harder to see each other. Gloria spends a lot of time traveling, checking up on the security of the region and training up her pokemon roster for the new year, and it’s difficult for Hop to catch up to her. 

Gloria stops home sometimes, when she can, but there aren’t any gyms in Postwick, so it’s hard for her to justify pokemon business. It’s often three days that Hop has to split with her family and his family, and it’s...hard. 

He knows better than to complain. Leon wasn’t around very often when he was growing up, either. 

They date through both of their 15th birthdays, and then both of their 16ths. Gloria had to cancel their second-year anniversary date to attend an emergency hearing on whether a gym challenger should be suspended for cheating or not. 

(They were. Gloria has very strong strong opinions about cheating). 

His research at the lab is going well, if not quite the direction he’d always pictured for himself. Sonia specializes in history and archaeology, and being her assistant is a lot more of reading and dusting off rocks and less helping Pokemon than he’d like. When he has the opportunity, he likes to shadow Professor Magnolia, who was a self-described physical chemist. 

“No need to call me professor,” Professor Magnolia always said on the days she visited. “I’m retired, now.” 

“I know, professor,” Hop always answered, and Professor Magnolia smirked and scolded him for his cheek and reviewed different chemical elements again. 

He’d been working at Sonia’s lab for a little over two years when Professor Magnolia invited him over to her house for tea. He made the journey down to the lake, reminiscing about the day that his and Gloria’s wishing stars fell straight at their feet. He sent Gloria a picture of the spot, and was surprised to find they hadn’t texted each other in four days. 

“Hop,” Professor Magnolia said, once he sat down for tea. “I’d like to discuss some future opportunities for you, if you’re serious about becoming a Pokemon professor.” 

“I am,” he answered. 

Professor Magnolia nodded. “Galar has a rich cultural heritage,” she said. “And it’s very industrious. However, as a region, scientific research is not our strongpoint.” 

Hop nodded, not really sure where she was going.

“Sonia didn’t do this,” Professor Magnolia said, “but it’s common for professors-in-training to travel to other regions to complete their studies. There’s a lot to learn out there that we aren’t really qualified to teach you. If you’re really interested in learning about Pokemon veterinary science, I can refer you to one of my old colleagues.” 

Hop swallowed. “Like who?” 

He worked with Professor Magnolia, and sent out applications within the week to Professor Elm’s, Professor Rowan’s and Professor Sycamore’s labs. Professor Elm replies back quickly, saying he has a new project and an urgent need for another assistant, and before he really knows it Hop has a job in the Pokemon Breeding lab, with the leading expert in the world on pokemon eggs. It’s a dream job. 

Hop has his dream job, and it’s in Johto. 

* * *

Leon can’t keep a secret, so Hop decided to tell Gloria first. Or...well, he tried to. 

“Hey, it’s me,” he said into the phone. “I know you’re off in the wild area - I mean, I think - but I’ve got some big news to share, so call back when you can. Love you. Bye.” 

He managed to get a hold of Leon right away and convince him to come back to Postwick for that evening, so he was able to tell his entire family over dinner that night. Leon’s roaring proud of him. His father was beaming with how prestigious of an opportunity this is. 

“That’s wonderful, sweetheart,” his mum said, clutching her hands to her chest. “Oh, we’ll miss you so much, though.” 

“I’ll be back in a few years,” Hop said. “It’s just an apprenticeship.” 

“What did Gloria say?” his mum asked. 

Hop shook his head. “Haven’t been able to get a hold of her yet,” he said. “I don’t think she’s in an area with cell service right now, but I left a message.” 

Professor Elm needed the help urgently, so Hop was scheduled to leave Galar by boat in exactly 1 week. Gloria took two days to call him back. 

“Hey, Hop,” she said, voice tinny through his phone microphone. “I’m so sorry, I was stuck with a migrating herd of Solosis. You said you had big news?” 

Hop swallowed. “Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been offered a new job.” 

“A new job?” she asked. “I didn’t know you were looking at different jobs. What are you going into this time?” 

He frowned. “I’m going to be working in Professor’s Elm’s research laboratory,” he said. “I’ll be apprenticing to him. I’m really excited about it.” 

Gloria paused on the other side of the phone. “Professor...Elm?” she asked, confused. 

“Yeah,” he said, answering her unspoken questioned. “I’m moving to Johto for the next three years. I- I’m sorry this is over the phone.”

“Hop, congratulations,” she said, sounding sincere, and his heart twisted a little inside his chest. “I’m so happy for you!” 

“Can you come home?” he asked. “I’d like to see you. I’m leaving in 5 days, which I know is a bit of a rush, but it’s a huge opportunity.” 

Gloria paused again on the other side of the line. “Of course, Hop,” she said. 

She arrived home the next day, surprising him by coming up straight into his bedroom while he was packing. “Hop!” 

He whirled around, dropping the pants he was folding. “Gloria!” he said, opening his arms. 

She rushed forward into his hug, nearly knocking him over. “It’s real,” she said. “You’re packing.” 

“Yeah,” he said, and swallowed so his voice wouldn’t shake. Out of all the people he told about his move, he was still the most nervous about Gloria’s reaction. 

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Do you want to go on a picnic?” she said. “You, me, the slumbering weald?” 

“Yeah, okay,” he said, and took her hand and walked downstairs with her. They managed to find a basket and a fairly good blanket, and packed themselves a lunch that wouldn’t require any cooking once they got there. 

The slumbering weald was beautiful at noon, as always. Their walk was quiet. Hop held the picnic basket in one had and Gloria’s hand in the other, and hoped his palm wasn’t sweating too much. 

They laid down the picnic blanket right over the spot where they’d had their first kiss. They made awkward small talk while they ate, and they seemed to go through the food way too fast. Gloria had let her hair grow out a little, Hop noticed. She never used to like it when it went past her shoulders. 

They’d just packed the last empty tin back into the picnic basket when Hop blurted out, “I think we should break up-”

“Do you want to have sex?” Gloria asked simultaneously, and then stopped when she realized he was talking. 

“What?” Hop asked. 

Gloria looked down and tried to hide her face behind her bangs. “This is awkward,” she said, blushing. “Eugh, please don’t think less of me. I was going to have sex and then suggest we break up.” 

Hop squinted at her. “What? Aren’t you mad at me for leaving?” 

She looked back up. “Of course I’m mad at you for leaving,” she said. “You didn’t even tell me you were thinking about it.” 

Hop shrugged, because she was right. “You weren’t around to tell,” he said instead. 

Gloria slumped. “We were different when we started dating,” she said. “We used to have spent our entire lives together and have everything in common and now we...don’t.” 

He swallowed. “Yeah. Why’d you want to have sex and then break up?” 

She shot him a serious look. “I want my first time to be with you,” she said quietly. “Even if it’s also our last time.” 

His heart thumped. “Oh,” he said. 

“If you don’t want to-”

“No,” he interrupted, and he shivered. “Of course I - Gloria, I still love you. You’re still my best friend. And you’re  _ incredibly  _ sexy. There’s no one else I’d rather have break-up sex with.”

She gave him a weak giggle. “Don’t call it that.” 

“What, break-up sex?” Hop said. “We can call it no pressure. If I suck at sex, we’ll already be breaking up, so...”

“I can’t believe I’m going to miss this,” Gloria said, and tackled him to the ground. 

They lay there, just kissing, for a little while. Gloria pulled back just a hair’s breadth after about 10 minutes. “Do you have a condom?” she whispered, her breath hot against his face. 

“No,” he said. 

“I do,” she said, and scrambled up off him to search for something in her discarded backpack. 

Hop propped himself up on his elbows. “You planned this,” he accused playfully. “I’ve been seduced.” 

She sent him a flirty look. “Maybe.” 

They spent all afternoon in the weald. 

* * *

They were walking baack, hand in hand, when Hop asked, “Do you think we’re making a mistake?” 

Gloria looked at him. “Mistake with what? Breaking up?” 

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean…” he squeezed her hand. 

“No,” Gloria said. “It’s hard enough trying to be in a relationship across one region. You’re going all the way across the world.”

“True,” he said.

“I don’t want you worrying about having to stay in constant contact with me,” she said. “I want you to be able to try new things, do the research you’ve always wanted to, not try to schedule video chat dates with a girl who’s a twelve hour timeshift away.” 

“I don’t want to stress you out more with your job than already you are either,” Hop agreed. 

“And we’re different,” Gloria said. “We’re not those kids anymore. We just don’t work together the way we used to.” She looked over at Hop. “Did I convince you?” 

“You didn’t even convince yourself,” he said with confidence. 

“You’re  _ right,”  _ she said in disgust. “Eugh. Break-up sex was a terrible idea.” 

“We’re too good at it,” Hop said. “I’d like to propose a new plan of action: we need to have  _ bad sex.”  _

“Bad sex on purpose?” she asked. 

“Bad sex. Break up. Boom,” Hop said. “I know it’ll be difficult, but if we keep trying…” 

Gloria snorted and nudged him with her shoulder. “Pervert.” 

“You’re beautiful,” he said. “You can’t blame me for being in love with you.” 

She stopped walking, suddenly, in the middle of the path. “I love you too, Hop,” she said seriously. “But we...we’ve got to stop saying it.” 

“It’s true.” 

“It’s not making anything better.” 

“We’re not just going to stop feeling this way.” 

“You’re  _ leaving,  _ Hop,” Gloria said, staring straight at him. “You can’t say things like that to me and then leave.” 

Hop swallowed.  _ You left me first,  _ he wanted to argue, but didn’t. He’d known what to expect. Leon hadn’t been around much, either. “Sorry,” he said instead. “Loving you is easy. But I guess we can’t just cruise through life taking the easy route, can we?” 

Gloria squeezed his hand again. “No,” she said flatly. “We can’t.” 

She kissed him goodbye at his Bon Voyage party, and that was the last time they were together for many, many years. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hop lives his life

Hop arrived in Johto with nothing but his suitcase, backpack, and six Pokemon on his belt. There’s a boy about his age waiting for him on the dock holding a sign with his name. “Hullo,” Hop said, scurrying over. He put down his suitcase and stuck out his hand. “I’m Hop, pleased to meet you.” 

The boy stuck out his hand. “I’m Paul Elm,” he said. “Professor Elm is my dad. We’ll be working together.” 

“Nice,” Hop said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

They set off towards New Bark town. “It’s a bit small,” Paul said. “But it’s also the closest in our region to Kanto, so we get a lot of travelers passing through, especially people going to challenge the League. How was your journey here, by the way?” 

Hop shrugged, and rolled his shoulders. “Long,” he said. “And I’m sure my Pokemon are getting antsy. There wasn’t very much room to let them out in my cabin on the boat.” 

Paul glanced quickly at Hop’s belt, and then did a double take. “Wow, you’ve got a full team, there, huh? Are you a trainer or something?” 

Hop opened his mouth to explain -  _ used to be, lost in the semi-finals, rivalry with the current champion, little brother of past champion -  _ but then stopped. In Galar, he’d been so defined by his relationships with all these extraordinary people, but here he could just...define himself. “No, not a trainer,” he answered. “I just really love Pokemon, is all.” 

“I can get behind that,” Paul said, and they continued chatting all the way back to the Pokemon Lab. 

* * *

“Dad!” Paul called out loudly when they entered the lab. “Dad? DAD!” 

“In the back!” came a shout from the back. 

Paul snorted, shaking his head. “He’s impossible to pull away from his work,” he explained. “It’s not just you.” He gestured to an empty desk. “You can put your stuff down there. Besides me, there’s two other full-time support staff, so you’ll make four, plus my dad. Come on, let’s head back there.” 

Hop dropped off his bags and headed off towards the back of the lab. He stepped out of the office area and was immediately bombarded with lights, and nests, different Pokemon eggs in different environments filling every corner of the room. “Whoa,” he said, eyes widening. 

“Dad!” said Paul, strolling over to a tall man in a lab coat. Professor Elm was leaning over an egg surrounded by damp rags - the indicator on the outside of the glass enclosure read  _ Temperature: 92°. Humidity: 90%.  _ “New assistant is here!” 

Professor Elm turned around and wiped some fog off his glasses. He was a skinny man, maybe around 50 years old, with greying sandy-blond hair. “You must be Hop of Galar,” he said, putting the glasses back on his face. “I must say, you have excellent qualifications. I’ve read Professor Sonia’s book - it’ll be good to have someone with your experience on the team.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Hop said. “It’s good to be here.” 

“I have a welcome gift for you,” Professor Elm said, and he led the way to a table in the front of the room. “You should have someone native to the region with you, in case you ever go out traveling by yourself. And I do highly encourage some traveling.” 

Hop blinked as he took in three pokeballs, all labeled: Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile. “Really?” he asked. “These are Johto’s three signature pokemon, aren’t they? It’s an honor, sir, are you sure you want to give one to me?” 

Professor Elm looked bemused. “I’m quite sure,” he said. “And no need for sirs around here, Hop.” 

“Thank you, professor,” Hop said, reaching out to grab a ball. He hesitated in between Cyndaquil and Totodile. Maybe he should get a fire type to cover some of the weaknesses on his team best. There were a lot of steel-type trainers, and he’d always struggled-

He wasn’t a trainer anymore. 

His hand closed decisively around Totodile. 

“Excellent choice,” Professor Elm said. “While we’re at it, let me make sure you have an international Pokedex. You’ll need it for your work here.”

* * *

“Hey, Hop,” Paul said one day, bounding over to his desk. “Me and the guys are heading out to Goldenrod City this weekend. Do you want to come with us? We’re trying to hit some nightlife stuff.” 

Hop pushed himself back from his desk. “Sure,” he said. “I’m free this weekend.” 

“Sweet!” Paul crowed, punching the air. “You’re going to be a hit with the girls, dude, I can tell you that now.” 

Hop wrinkled his nose. “What? Me?” 

“Whot?” Paul imitated. “Yeah, you. Girls  _ love  _ Galar accents. You’re going to kill it.” 

His hand flew to his throat. “I’ve never thought about my accent. Is it bad?” 

“Are you even listening?” Paul said. “Girls. Love. Galar. Accents.” 

“I don’t know anything about hitting up girls,” Hop said. 

“You’re killing me,” Paul said. “Ever had a date before?” 

“I had a girlfriend back in Galar,” Hop said. “One. And she made the first move, so…” 

Paul waved his hand in the air like he was swatting away a fly. “We’ll teach you.” 

Hop raised an eyebrow. “Do you know anything about girls either?” 

“Screw you,” Paul said. “Tomorrow morning at my house. Road trip to Goldenrod. Be there or be square.”

* * *

“Goldenrod is one of the biggest cities in the world!” Paul insisted. 

Hop send a doubtful eye out over all the buildings. “It’s not very tall, is it?”

“Not tall!” Paul echoed, incredulous. “We’ve got the Radio Tower!” 

“One tower,” Hop said,skeptical. 

“It’s just spread out,” Paul said. “Huge city. Come on.”

They met up with some of Paul’s other friends from school, who welcomed Hop into their group graciously. One of them worked for the Johto safari zone, which was really interesting - Hop spent most of his time chatting about that. 

The group went out to a nightclub around 9pm that Saturday night. It was Hop’s first time in a club. 

He was instantly uncomfortable. 

“Drinks?” Paul shouted over the thumping base. 

Hop took one look at the overcrowded bar. “No thanks mate,” he said, looking around to try and find the least crowded area in the building. Dancefloor - no, way too many people, and way too loud music, and way too much dancing. He’d never been much of a dancer. “I’m going to go try to sit down!” 

“Okay!” Paul yelled back. “Text us!” 

Hop waved him off and started stalking off. There weren’t very many tables or seats of any kind at all - in his mind, Hop had pictured more of a pub-type environment. The music, the people - this was overwhelming. 

The quietest and least crowded area of the building was hidden behind a red velvet rope. Hop stopped in front of the bouncer and figured he’d try his luck. “What’s it take to get in there?” he asked. 

The bouncer raised his eyebrow. “You either know somebody, or you’ve got eight gym badges and up.” 

“Oh,” Hop said, and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. “They have to be Johto gym badges?”

“You from Kanto or something?” the bouncer asked, but his eyes widened when he saw Hop’s completed badge ring. “Wow, never saw one of those before. Galar?” 

“Full gym circuit,” Hop confirmed. 

The bouncer lifted the rope. “Not many Galarians around here,” he said. “Enjoy, man.” 

“Thanks!” Hop said. “Have a good one!” 

The VIP area - if that’s what it was called - mercifully had many empty tables. Hop collapsed into a corner booth and pulled out his phone. It would be after 9AM back home. It was too far away to text, cell service didn’t reach that far, but he could probably send an email. What would he say, though?  _ Hi, Lee, guess who’s still afraid of dancing- _

“Leon?” a voice interrupted, like his thoughts summoned the question. 

Hop looked up to see a young woman around Leon’s age, maybe a little older, staring down at him with a confused face. “Sorry,” he answered her. “No, I’m Hop.”

She shook her head. “Are you from Galar?” she asked. “You sound like it. And you look just like former Champion Leon.” 

Hop decided to take pity on her. “Leon’s my older brother,” he said. “I get that a lot.” He gestured to the other side of the table. “Want to sit down?” 

The woman plopped herself down. She had dark pink hair tied back in two long ponytails over her shoulder. “Leon’s kid brother!” she said. “Now that you mention it, he talked about you sometimes, back when I knew him.” She grinned as though she was sharing a secret. “You’re definitely way older than he described, though. He used to talk about you as though you were a baby.” 

“Lee’s full of it,” Hop said. “I’m sorry, but...who are you?” 

The woman raised her eyebrows for a second, but then threw her head back and laughed. “Wow! It’s been a while since I had to introduce myself in my own city. I’m Whitney.” She stuck out her hand for him to shake. “I went out with your brother once or twice.” 

The name rung a bell. “Gym Leader Whitney?” 

“That’s the one!” Whitney said. “What’s a Galarian like yourself doing all the way out here? You trying the Johto Pokemon League?”

Hop shook his head. “No, I’m here apprenticing to Professor Elm. I want to be a pokemon professor.” 

“Very cool,” Whitney said. “A champion and a professor in one family, huh? Your parents must be thrilled.” 

“Oh, yeah,” Hop said. “Lee’s chairman of the Galar League, now, so he gets to keep fighting. What gym specialty are you?” 

“Normal type!” she chirped. 

He perked up. “I love normal type!” he said. “I’ve got my Dubwool with me right now!” 

“Ooo,” Whitney said. “I’ve never seen a Dubwool.” 

“Oh, you should start with a Wooloo if you can,” Hop said. “I love Wooloos. He was my first pokemon.” 

“I’ve got a Miltank,” Whitney said. 

“A MooMoo milk Miltank?” Hop blurted out. “Oh, that’s so cool.” 

Whitney pulled something out of her pocket and slid it across the table. “Here’s my trainer card,” she said. “Hey, are you busy right now?” 

Hop snorted as he picked up the card.  _ Leader Whitney, Goldenrod Gym. _ “Do I look busy?” 

“You up for a Pokemon battle?” she asked. 

“In here?” he asked, confused. 

“No, silly,” she said, shaking her head. “Outside, obviously. Your Dubwool, my Miltank.” 

His heart started pumping harder. “I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t done any pokemon battles recently.” 

“Aw, come on,” she said. “I can make it worth your while. If you beat me, you  _ do  _ get the Plain Badge.” 

Hop bit his lip. It was a tempting offer; he’d been spending a lot of time with Totodile recently, but had been holding off on evolution since he didn’t have the supporting badges for a higher-level Johto pokemon. “Doesn’t the gym challenge have to be completed with native Pokemon, though?” 

“I can bend the rules for a future professor,” Whitney said, and winked. “As long as you promise to get me a Wooloo one day.” 

Hop grinned. “I can see why Leon liked you.” 

She smiled back. “Come on, let’s get out of the lonely corner.” 

She led him outside, and to a park nearby with a public battle courtyard. “I can give you the same battle I give to all my gym challengers,” she said. “Clefairy, go!” 

“Go, Dubwool,” Hop ordered, and then just stared as he realized the difference in experience between his first pokemon and Whitney’s. “Umm...don’t you have anything...I don’t know, higher level? This almost feels like bullying.” 

“Oh, come on, Galar,” she said. “Show me what you got.” 

Dubwool double-kicked Clefairy and Miltank out of the court in one-hit each. “Yeah,” Hop said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um...sorry?” 

“I love him!” Whitney screeched, running forward and hovering over Dubwool. “Can I pet him? Please?” 

“Go for it,” Hop said. 

Dubwool preened under Whitney’s praise. “Oh my gosh, he’s so fluffy,” Whitney said. “And with such pretty horns! Who’s a good boy, huh?” 

“I’ve had him forever,” Hop said. “I - whoa!” 

Whitney grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him down next to her so their faces were together. “Selfie time!” she exclaimed. “Got to give your brother the latest Johto update! Say cheese!” 

Hop smiled as she took a selfie with him and Dubwool. “Lee’s going to be so jealous he missed a battle.”

“We’ll have to do a real one sometime,” Whitney said, and pulled something else out of her pocket. “Here, one plain badge, as promised.” Hop took it and traded her his trainer card.  _ “Researcher Hop,”  _ Whitney read. “I like it.” 

“I owe you a Wooloo,” Hop said. “You’ll love it, I promise.” 

“I’m sure I will,” she said. “Feeling better now?” 

He blinked. “What?” 

She nudged him with her shoulder. “You were looking a little down before,” she said. “Come one, holing yourself away in the corner by yourself? What, are you homesick?”

Hop swallowed. “I came here with friends,” he said. “They just...all they want to do is dance with girls, and I just...I don’t know.” 

“Girl problems,” Whitney said, nodding in understanding. “Want to talk about it?” 

Hop shrugged. “Unless you have tips on how to get over someone…” he said. 

“Ah,” she said. “It’s tough, kid, but so are you. You’ll get through it. You’re going places, I can tell.” 

He looked up. “Thanks,” he said softly. “I’ll get you two Wooloos, if you want.” 

Whitney laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “If you ever want to stop by my uncle’s dairy farm, feel free,” she said. “The info’s on the back of my card.” 

They headed back into the nightclub, where Hop found Paul and his friends again. They didn’t stay for too much longer, and headed back to sleep on the floor of one of Paul’s friend’s apartments. 

Hop was woken up the next morning by loud whispering coming from the kitchen. He pushed himself up off the beanbag chair he’d used as a makeshift bed and headed in their to investigate. 

“Dude, you’re up!” Paul said as soon as he saw him, and shoved his phone under Hop’s nose. “You didn’t tell me you were with Gym Leader Whitney last night!” 

Hop blinked, and saw that Whitney had tagged him in a photo - the selfie of the two of them with their faces smushed together, hovering over Dubwool.  _ Had fun talking about regional pokemon with @HippityHoppity last night! It was nice meeting a future pokemon professor!  _ “Oh, that,” Hop said. 

“Oh, that!” echoed Paul incredulously. “You got to hang out with the most incredibly beautiful girl in region last night and didn’t tell us? Her entire gym is based upon being cute!” 

“Didn’t come up,” Hop said, reaching for a mug. He’d prefer tea, but he’d take coffee if they had any. “Plus, ‘girl’, really? Shouldn’t it be woman? She’s got, like, 10 years on us.” 

“You’re unbelievable,” Paul said. 

“I try,” Hop said dryly. “Anyone else up for a spot of tea?” 

* * *

It was about two months later when the first gym challenger on their way to the Johto championship stopped in and demanded a battle with Hop. 

Hop blinked, a little disoriented at being pulled away from his hypothesis. “Um, what?” 

“You’re Researcher Hop, right?” the challenger asked, pulling up a card and showing it. “Leader Whitney said you’d be a good battle if I got this far.” 

Hop swallowed. “Oh,” he said, and he felt his heart start to race in anticipation. He stood up and started to stretch - it would be nice for his eyes if he could stop staring at his computer screen. “I didn’t know Whitney was passing on my card. I’ve only got Galar pokemon, is that ok?” 

“No problem,” the challenger said, smiling widely at him. “You sound like you’re in?” 

Hop took a step away from his desk, and then paused to consider the pokemon on his belt. Carefully, he unclipped Zacian’s pokeball and placed it down next to his computer. Poor challenger deserved to have a chance, after all. “I could use a break,” he agreed. “Want to take this outside?” 

Despite being one pokemon down, it was still a good battle. Hop lost that first one, but he won the next that Whitney sent along. 

Being between the Johto champion and the rest of the region, a steady trickle of gym challengers and strong trainers were always passing through. Battle was a great way to raise his Totodile, and eventually he traveled around to a few of the other early-ranked gyms to gather a few more badges, just to make sure he was up to date with his Johto pokemon-level clearances. 

The battles both wowed the other research assistants and kept his life busy for the first few years. His studies were going brilliantly as well - he was learning so much under Professor Elm. He couldn’t have asked for more in his first two years. 

* * *

“HOP!” Paul bellowed from the front door of the lab. “CHALLENGER FOR YOU!” 

“GIVE ME A MINUTE,” Hop shouted back, all the way from the back. He placed the latest egg into the hottest egg habitat they had, and then closed the lid and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He heard Paul chatting with the challenger in the distance, so he programmed the habitat from the local interface quickly and jogged back out into the office area. “Sorry about that,” he said, pushing his goggles up to his hairline and stripping off his gloves. “I’m Researcher…” 

Gloria smiled slowly as he trailed off in shock. She stood just inside the doorway, bouncing up to the toes of her feet and back again. She was here. She was  _ here?  _ “Hi, Hop,” she said. 

“Gloria,” he breathed, and he dropped his gloves straight on the floor and rushed towards her, pulling her instantly into a hug. “You’re here!” 

She giggled as she squeezed him back. “You got tall!” 

He used to only have about half a head on Gloria - now she came up to about his chin. “You shrunk!” he insisted. “It’s brilliant to see you. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” 

“I wanted to surprise you!” she said, rocking back and beaming at him. 

“Well, it worked,” Hop said. “You look great-” he cut himself off a second too late, the words already out of his mouth. Were you allowed to compliment your ex-girlfriend on her looks? Would it be awkward now? Oh, no, he’d just made it awkward, 5 seconds in-

“Thanks!” Gloria said earnestly, interrupted his panicking. “You do too!” 

Hop felt his smile widening. “What brings you to the region? You’re not just here visiting, are you?” 

She shrugged. “I had to meet with the Kanto champion, but I’m all done with that. I’m on vacation for the next 5 days.” 

Hop nodded to himself, and then turned around. “PROFESSOR!” he shouted, running over to Elm’s office. “Professor Elm, I need the next 5 days off.” 

Luckily, it didn’t take 5 tries to pull Elm away from his work this time - he looked over right away. “Everything alright, Hop?” 

“More than,” Hop said, looking behind him and gesturing Gloria over. “Professor Elm, this is Champion Gloria of the Galar Region. She’s an old friend of mine from home.” 

Elm stood up from his desk as Gloria wandered over to shake hands. “Nice to meet you, Gloria.” 

“The pleasure is mine,” she answered back. “I’ve heard wonderful things about your lab, Professor.” 

“Hop, why don’t you take her on a tour?” Elm said. “And then take your five days.”

He grinned again, grabbed Gloria’s hand and tugged her out of Elm’s office. “Thank you!” Hop called over his shoulder, and started pulling her towards the lab in the back. “Oh, Gloria, you’re going to  _ love  _ this. We’ve got 4 baby Pichus that just hatched yesterday, and they shock themselves when they sneeze. It’s adorable.” He let go of her hand in order to gesture better, and shoved the regret that he’d dropped it immediately to the back of his mind. She wasn’t his girlfriend anymore - they couldn’t hold hands. “Plus we’ve got a million other eggs. Let me show you.” 

Gloria listened eagerly to all of his stories. Hop felt like he was babbling, but Gloria just kept smiling and asking more questions and she was somehow impossibly even more beautiful at 18 than she’d been at 16, so how was he supposed to resist? 

By the time he’d shown her everything of interest he could think of, it was getting late. Hop was interrupted from his latest story by the loud rumbling of his own stomach. “Oh, I’ve lost track of time,” he said, putting one hand over his stomach and looking around at the clock. “It’s basically dinner. Want to drop off your bag and go grab a bite?” 

“I’d love that,” she answered instantly. “Where’s the closest hotel?” 

Hop started leading the way out the door. “There isn’t a hotel in town,” he said. “Stay with me. I’ve got an apartment here, you can save your money.” 

“Ooo,” Gloria commented. “I do love saving money. You sure your flat’s big enough?” 

Hop shrugged. “I’ve got a couch. We’ll be fine.” 

They ate dinner at a small restaurant owned by one of Hop’s neighbors, and after their meal Hop took the time to show her around New Bark Town “It’s nice here,” Gloria said. “Reminds me a little of Wedgehurst.” 

“I like it,” Hop said. “But it’s definitely not the most exciting thing to see. Where would you like to go tomorrow?” 

“What would you recommend?” she asked. 

He racked his brain as he led the way up to the little house he was renting. “How much have you seen of Johto? There are some pretty cool things to see - oo, but if you want to, we could both go to Kanto. I’ve only been once, but it’s really close. We could explore that together. Are you planning on taking any pokemon back with you?” 

Gloria shook her head. “I’m not here for pokemon,” she said. “I mean, I do love them, but I’m on vacation. Plus, I couldn’t use any foreign Pokemon in any battles, anyway.” 

He pulled out his keys and unlocked his front door, feeling thankful he wasn’t still bound to the Pokemon League and their strict battling rules. “Alright - we’ll skip the safari zones. They are super cool, though, I’ll have to tell you about them one time when it’s not so late.” 

She followed him into his house, looking around in interest. “It’s clean in here,” she said, with a note of surprise. 

“Whoa,” Hop said, fake-offended. “I’m clean!” 

“You’re house was always a mess.” 

“Leon and my dad are a mess,” Hop said. “I’m clean, neat,  _ and I’ve _ got a couch with a pull-out bed with your name on it. You’ve hit guest jackpot, Gloria, I mean, look at this beauty.” 

He tried to show Gloria the wonders of the pull-out-couch bed, but she was still wandering around the rest of the house, examining his things. “Hey, Hop,” she said, her voice light, staring at his kitchen cabinets. 

She must have been nervous about something - she wasn’t making eye contact. “Yeah?” he replied cautiously. 

“Are you seeing anyone right now?” she said, still staring at the kitchen like it was the most entertaining thing in the world. 

The question threw him. He’d been a few dates in the last two years, but nothing serious. Still, his heart panged as he looked at Gloria and realized she wasn’t the last person he’d kissed. “No,” he said truthfully. “I’m single.” 

She looked around, finally. Her hair was short again now, like she’d worn it during their gym challenge. “Me too,” she said, looking directly at him. 

Hop blinked, and licked his lips. He could hardly think with her piercing gaze on him like that. “I’m still not done with my apprenticeship,” he said, his voice deepening. “I know I was initially thinking three years, but it might be even longer than that.” 

“Yeah,” Gloria said, and brushed a stray piece of hair back behind her ear. “We still both lives on different sides of the planet. We couldn’t date. It’d be too difficult.” 

“Way too difficult,” Hop said. His living room felt steaming hot, all of a sudden, and he started taking off his jacket. 

Gloria’s eyes flickered to the newly-revealed bare skin of his arms. “But I’m on vacation,” she murmured. “What you do in Johto stays in Johto, right?” 

His heart started pounding. That wasn’t a real expression - that was such an obvious line - his limbs were suddenly shaking with barely contained adrenaline, fight or flight, because  _ he was being chased.  _

He could flee. 

“I’m staying in Johto,” Hop said instead, because for all his habit of running he’d never been one to run away. “Do me.”

Gloria let out a breath of something that might of been relief, and the next thing he knew she’d dropped her bag on the floor and flown into his arms, grasping his head to force him down and kissing him like her life depended on it. He gasped under the assault and her tongue was suddenly right there, insistent and still tasting slightly of their dinner. 

He reached down and picked Gloria up by the back of her thighs, hoisting her up is body so he wouldn’t have to bend down so far to kiss her. She adjusted to the new position easily, cradling his hips with her legs, like this was the most natural position in the world for the two of them to be in. 

Gloria didn’t end up sleeping on the couch that night. 

They caught the ferry over the Kanto first thing the next morning, and the next five days they were both on vacation. 

* * *

Hop woke up before Gloria the morning she was set to leave. He could just barely make out the sun peaking over the horizon through the window of their hotel room in Vermillion City. It was still incredibly early, but she was leaving on a ferry that morning, so they only had a few hours left. 

He looked over across the bed. Gloria was sleeping on her stomach, her one hand reaching out to brush his shoulder, as if to make sure he was still there. This week had been the first time they’d actually spent a whole night together - they’d still both lived with their parents when they were younger, and were a little too shy to try, besides. Spending the first night in the same bed as her had felt like a dream; spending every night with her since was a whirlwind. Her being there - her  _ always  _ being there - 

“Glo,” he said softly, rolling over onto his side and dragging her closer. “Gloria, wake up.” 

She made a noise of displeasure and buried her face into the crook of his neck. 

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Come on,” he said, rubbing her back. “Morning. I want to hang out with you before you have to go back.” 

Missing Gloria had always been a part of their relationship, back when they were dating; it was so omnipresent he’d just grown numb to it. He could feel it again, the heartache starting to creep back, the longing for  _ what if she could just stay with him forever.  _

“We hung out all week,” Gloria muttered into his shoulder. “Priorities. Breakfast.” 

“I like breakfast,” he said. “Think we’ll find a good egg sandwich around here?” 

“No one makes an egg sandwich better than me,” she said dismissively. “I’ve perfected my recipe last year. I’ll have to show you sometime.” 

Hop looked down at her, still borrowing into his chest and not making a move to get up, despite her words, and felt like he was on the edge of something. Like he was balanced precariously on the peak of a cliff, and when he looked down he could see his future laid out in front of him: waking up with Gloria every day, breakfast and dinner and traveling together. They’d done it all week, they could have an entire future of this, a future where having to miss her all the time wasn’t a foregone conclusion. A future where, maybe, he could be with her all the time instead. 

“Yeah, you’ll have to show me sometime,” Hop said. “Hey, what do you say to not breaking up this time?” 

She stiffened in his arms, and pulled away so she could see his face. “What do you mean?” she asked. “We’re not dating.” 

“Right,” he said. “What if we...were dating?” 

She frowned, and sat up in bed. “Where is this coming from?” she asked. “We said no strings attached, at the start of this. We agreed.” 

“We agreed before our week-long romantic getaway,” Hop said, and sat up next to her. “You can’t tell me you don’t feel this, Gloria.” 

“Don’t  _ say it,”  _ she hissed, and jumped out of bed. “Hop - god. Don’t do this, this time.” 

He frowned, scrutinizing her as she fumbled around the room for her clothes. “Don’t do what?” 

She turned back around, glaring. “Don’t make me hurt you,” she said. “You always do this, and I hate it.” 

He kicked off the covers too, and stood up directly in front of her. “If the answer is no, just say so,” he said. “I didn’t think I was asking for something impossible.” 

“Are you coming back to Galar?” she said. 

“What?” he said, thrown. “No.” 

“Then it  _ is,”  _ she insisted. “You know that.” 

“We can do long distance.” 

“No, we can’t,” she said. “It’s too hard. It just makes you miserable-”

“We were practically doing long distance back in Galar-”

“And you were miserable then!” 

“No, I wasn’t!” 

“Don’t lie to me, Hop!” she shouted, and then took a step back, running over to her suitcase and throwing things in.

He crossed his arms and made sure that he was between her and the door. “I’m not.” 

“Then you’re lying to yourself,” she said. “I’ve seen the life you’ve built for yourself, here. You love it. You don’t need me.” 

“What if I did go back with you?” he asked. “What if I decided-”

“Don’t you  _ dare!”  _ she interrupted, whirling around. 

“But I  _ love you, Gloria!”  _ he yelled. “I love you! How can that not be enough?” 

She clenched her fists. “You always  _ fucking  _ do this,” she growled. 

Hop was breathing fast, like he’d just been running a mile. “Well, why wouldn’t I?” he asked. “I’m not going to be gone forever. Why wouldn’t I want to date you in whatever way I can until then?” 

“You’re talking about us like we don’t have any other options,” she said. _“_ _You and I are not a foregone conclusion, Hop.”_

Her words hit him like bullets, his eyes widening as he took them in. “Oh,” he said. “I thought you felt - nevermind.” 

Her face fell. “Hop, I - look, obviously you’ll always be my best friend, but our paths don’t always-”

“Save it,” he said, hurriedly pulling on a clean shirt and pair of jeans. “I’m going to go cool down. Take a walk. Do whatever you like - not that I could stop you, anyways.” 

_ “Hop,”  _ she repeated, darting forward and grabbing him by the wrist as he tried to scoop up his wallet. 

He wrenched his arm out of her grip. “Why did you even come here?” he demanded. “Why did you even start something-”

“I didn’t mean to,” she said. “Hop, I’m sorry, I saw you and it just _ happened. _ ”

“Don’t write to me,” Hop said, and then he grabbed his wallet and keys and was out the door in a flash. 

* * *

By the time he came back to the hotel room, Gloria was gone. Hop took the ferry back to Johto, and tried not to bite Paul’s head off when he started asking questions. 

“Dude,” Paul said. “How come you never mentioned that you’re friends with a Champion?” 

Hop frowned. “I must have told you loads of stories about her.” 

“No,” Paul said. 

Hop wracked his memory. “Yes, I have,” he said. “You know, my ex-girlfriend?” 

Paul’s jaw dropped comically low. “You dated  _ a champion?”  _

“Don’t get excited,” Hop ordered, turning away. “Ended for a reason, after all.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha whoops forgot to tag this as a multichapter last time (it definitely is)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop graduates

Hop spent the summer he was 20 years old in Pallet Town with Professor Oak. He was called over to assist in with the new mildew epidemic that had covered all sorts of plant-like pokemon in a powdery rash. 

“Good as you, now, aren’t you?” Hop crooned to an absolutely tiny Bulbasaur, scratching it under its chin. It fit in the square of his palm. 

“Bulb!” it trilled in agreement. 

Hop smiled, and handed the pokemon back to the nurse who had brought it here. “Thank you, Joy.” 

“Thank  _ you,”  _ she said. “It can be so hard to cure Pokemon with closed bulbs or bells.” 

“I think you’ve got the hang of it now,” Hop said. 

The nurse nodded and walked out of the PokeLab with her new patient. Hop watched her leave with a small smile as the baby Bulbasaur warbled in her arms. 

“Hop?” 

He turned to see Professor Oak striding towards him, a spare white lab coat draped over one arm. “Hey, Sam,” he greeted. “I think that was the last one.” 

“Excellent work,” Professor Oak said. “”You’ve been a big help around here. We couldn’t have saved so many pokemon so quickly without you.” 

“It was no problem,” Hop said. “Besides, it’s not like mildew is deadly. It just made them itch.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Professor Oak said. “You’re someone to turn to when pokemon need help.” 

“It’s been my dream to help pokemon,” Hop said. 

“You love your work and it shows,” Professor Oak said. He was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, and Professor Elm stumbled through. 

“Did I - oh, perfect, I’m on time,” Professor Elm said, hurrying over to them. “Sam, Hop, how are you?” 

“I’m glad you made it, John,” Professor Oak said. 

“He’s my student,” Elm said. “Wouldn’t have been fair to let you have all the fun.” 

Hop cleared his throat as his brows furrowed in confusion. “Hello,” he said. “Am I missing something? What are you doing all the way over here?” 

Professors Oak and Elm exchanged a satisfied look. “Do you want the honors?” Professor Oak asked in a teasing tone. “Or, the fun, as you call it?” 

“I do,” Professor Elm said, and took the spare lab coat Oak had brought out. “Hop, it’s truly been a pleasure watching you grow these last few years. You truly have a gift in the field of PokeMedicine. Sam and I took the liberty of publishing your thesis on the new strain of antidote you’ve developed.” 

Hop blinked. “Thesis?” he echoed. “You mean my report?” 

“We call it a thesis if it’s attributed to the earning of a doctoral degree,” Professor Elm said, and held out the lab coat. “You’re truly a specialist in your own right. This is for you, Professor Hop.” 

Hop stared at the lab coat, his throat drying up as he snatched it up and swung it over his shoulders. It fit perfect across his shoulders, his name embroidered on a front pocket. The back fell down to the back of his knees. “Really?” he asked softly, hardly daring to believe it. 

Professor Elm chuckled. “You’ve earned it.” 

Hop’s face broke out into a grin as he took a step forward and embraced his mentor in quick, hard hug. “Thank you,” he said hoarsely as he stepped back. He cleared his throat as he turned to Professor Oak and stuck out his hand for a shake. “Both of you. It’s been an honor learning from you.”

“It’s about time,” Professor Oak said. “I’m not sure there’s anything left we can teach you. You are obviously free to set up your own lab whenever you like, but when we consulted Professor Sonia she seemed eager to have you back in Galar.” 

Hop’s smile widened as he thought about his first mentor’s reaction to all of this. “It’ll be nice to go back home,” he said. 

“Sonia was sorry she couldn’t make it here,” Elm said. “I’d hurry back, if I were you. She may want to give you a graduation ceremony herself.” 

“Oh, boy,” Hop said. “I hope she doesn’t do something dramatic.” 

* * *

It took him a few weeks to finish all his projects, say goodbye to his friends, and pack up all his things, but Hop was on the ferry back to Galar as soon as he could. After the first night of travel, he was close enough for his Rotom phone to work again with his home region. 

He called Sonia first. “Hello?” she answered. 

“Hey, Sonia,” he said. “Guess-”

“AAAAAAAAAA!” she screamed into the phone. “MY GLOBE-TROTTING ASSISTANT! LEON, GET OVER HERE! GUESS WHO IT IS?” 

He wrenched the phone away from his ears in order to try and save his ear drums. 

“HOP?!” Leon’s voice bellowed. 

“Guys, my ears,” he said. 

“Love you too,” Leon retorted. “I got your email. You didn’t say why you were coming home?” 

“Sonia knows,” he offered. 

“I do know,” Sonia said. “And I  _ am  _ planning a party.” 

Hop snorted. “I knew it.” 

“Oh, fantastic,” Leon said. “We gotta invite the whole crew. Our family, Sonia’s family, your old challenge friends-”

“Oh my god,  _ Gloria,”  _ Sonia interrupted. “Hop, do you already have plans to meet up with her? You can do it here!” 

His mouth went dry. “O-oh,” he spluttered. “I don’t know-”

“Yeah, Sonia, let them do it in private,” Leon said. “No one needs to see them jump each other’s bones in real time.” 

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Hop said, feeling his cheeks heat up. 

“Hop,” Sonia said. “I know for a fact that Gloria’s single right now.” 

“We broke up,” he blurted out. 

“That was years ago,” Leon said. “You guys didn’t end it on bad terms. I’ve never seen her as into anyone as she was into you-”

“Guys-” he started. 

“I mean, you don’t have to,” Leon continued anyways, “but what would I know about it, I’m just your best big brother-”

“We did end on bad terms, actually,” Hop interrupted. “And I don’t think she’ll want to see me again, so that’s that, alright? Lee, what are you even doing over at Sonia’s, anyway?”

“We’re hanging out,” Leon said evasively. “What do you mean, it ended badly? We were right here. Seemed pretty amicable then.”

“Not that time,” Hop admitted. “The other time.” 

“What other time?” Sonia asked. 

“Nothing.” 

Leon gasped loudly. “Sonia, they hooked up again that time Gloria went to Kanto about two years ago! I called it! I  _ so  _ called it-”

“Not your business,” Hop said in frustration. 

“Gloria said she didn’t even  _ see  _ Hop,” Sonia replied to Leon. 

“They totally hooked up again,” Leon said. “I could tell. Right, bro? Back me up here.” 

Hop took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. “We did hook up again,” he admitted. “For the record, it was only, like, a year and a half ago. And it ended really, really bad.”

There was a few seconds of silence from the other side of the phone, followed by frantic whispering too muffled for Hop to make out. And then, finally, “what did she do to my baby brother?” Leon asked. “I’ll challenge her. I could beat her up.” 

“Lee, no,” Hop said. “I can fight my own battles.” 

Leon gasped loudly. “Bro, you’re a genius. A pokemon battle! Would that make you feel better?” 

“Feel better?” he echoed incredulously. “It was a year and a half ago! I’m fine.” 

“So you’re just going to avoid the Pokemon champion forever?” Leon asked. “That’s your plan? Come on, confront her. Battle your feelings out, get it out of the way.” 

“I don’t need…” Hop started, his heart clenching when he thought of Gloria. How he’d poured his heart out, basically told her that he would be with her forever. How she...didn’t feel the same. How she apparently told people she hadn’t even seen him. 

_ (It was okay,  _ he told himself.  _ She had a right to her feelings. If she didn’t feel the same, then we they didn’t really belong together anyway.) _

_ ( _ But there was another thought, a wounded-furious-bitter voice in the pit of his mind that he could never quite banish:  _ how dare she do this to us?)  _

“A pokemon battle isn’t the answer to everything, Leon,” Sonia said, sounding exasperated. “I’ll throw a party, and Hop can avoid his ex.” 

“No,” Hop declared suddenly, clenching the phone tightly in his fist. “I’ve changed my mind. I do want a pokemon battle.” 

“YES!” Leon cheered. “I’ll set it up! Is an exhibition-only match ok? I’m sure you’ll want to show off your new pokemon.” 

“That’s exactly what I want to do,” Hop said. “Cancel the party!” 

“It’s postponed at best,” Sonia grumbled. 

“I can make it the exhibition match before the opening ceremonies!” Leon said. “You should get here just in time to make it.” 

“Or, you know,” Sonia said. “You could do something without maximum drama.” 

“What’s the point of being chairman of the league if I can’t take advantage of it?” 

“He’s not even really pulling any strings for me, Sonia,” Hop added. “The champion battling their rival is traditional. And I was Gloria’s rival way before I was her ex. Make sure she brings her A-game, Lee. I’m bring Zacian.” 

“This is going to be amazing!” Leon said. “Think of the ratings. Hop, you’re practically doing me a favor.” 

“You better hope your boat isn’t late,” Sonia said. “The opening ceremony is tomorrow night.” 

“I’ll be there,” Hop promised. “And I’ll be ready.” 

* * *

Hop’s ship did run into a mild storm, so they were docking at Wyndon barely an hour before the exhibition match was to start. Hop sprinted down the dock and started running like a madman through the streets, dragging his suitcase behind him straight to the stadium. 

He skipped the lines the spectators were shuffling through, heading to the challenger’s entrance by long-dormant muscle memory. The League Staff member sitting there behind the desk looked relieved to see him arrive. 

“Researcher Hop,” she asked, smiling as she typed something into the computer. “You’ve made it. Can I check your qualifications, please? I’m sure the system will need an update.” 

“Professor Hop,” he corrected, pulling out his wallet. “Yeah, it must have been...six years, since I’ve done a battle here?” 

“Noted,” the league staff member said. “5 Johto badges, 2 Kanto - these will only be used as statistics for your profile, of course.”

“I don’t need a fancy profile,” Hop said. “I’m not looking to complete the official challenge ever again.” 

“The fans will appreciate it,” the staff member said. “It makes the Champion look good, to have such an accomplished rival.” She reached behind her and pulled out a package and set it on the edge of your desk. “Chairman Leon special-ordered a new uniform for you. As this is an exhibition match, feel free to accessorize however you like. Locker rooms are in the same place.” 

“Thank you,” Hop said, grabbing the new uniform box with one hand and the suitcase with the other. He hauled his things down to the men’s locker room, tripping only once as he tried to open the door and not drop any of the things he was carrying. 

The locker room wasn’t quite empty. An unmistakable blond head turned around as Hop noisily dropped everything on the bench in the middle of the room. “There you are,” the man said, like they’d spoken at all in the last four years. “You’re running late.” 

“Hello to you too, Bede,” Hop quipped, ripping open his uniform box. “I’m aware.” 

Bede swatted his hand in the arm like he could wave away Hop’s comments. “Yes, yes, welcome back, all that codswallop.” 

Hop tore open the plastic lining to reveal a gleaming white uniform. His old number, 189, stared back at him. “Bede, take all the offense you want to this: I did not miss you at all. What are you doing here?” 

“Nor I you,” Bede agreed. “And thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to let me know. The opening ceremonies, which the gym leaders do take part in,  _ are tonight,  _ if you haven’t noticed.” 

“You aren’t going to watch the battle?” Hop said. The words came out a little muffled, as he was changing his shirt. “It’s awfully early for you to be down here.” 

“Eh,” Bede said. “I’m keeping up the illusion. Gloria is under the impression that she’s battling me tonight.” 

Hop popped his head through the shirt whole and stared at his old enemy in confusion. “What? Why did you tell her that?” 

“I didn’t tell her anything. I think she just read that she’s battling her rival tonight and jumped to conclusions,” Bede said. “She started trying to trash-talk me on the way in.” 

“And what’d you say?” Hop said, pulling on his shorts and tying his shoes. 

Bede crossed his arms and leaned back against the lockers. “I told her that  _ I  _ wasn’t going to be losing to anyone tonight,” he said, staring at Hop stood up and undug his lab coat from his suitcase, swinging it over his shoulders in one smooth motion. “Your coat’s wrinkled.” 

“No time to iron it,” Hop said. He stuffed his emergency supplies into his pocket and did one last count of his pokemon. 

“Here,” Bede said, and shoved a pair of glasses with big black frames under Hop’s nose. 

Hop recoiled. “I don’t want your hipster glasses.” 

“Are you going for the academic look or not?” Bede asked impatiently, shaking the glasses under his nose. “Don’t half-arse it.” 

“I don’t wear glasses.” 

“They’re not prescription,” Bede said. “Look, you’re here to woo Gloria or you’re not. Pick a side.” 

“I’m not  _ wooing  _ Gloria!” Hop retorted. “I’m here to battle!” 

Bede just stared at him, unimpressed.

“Whatever,” Hop growled, snatching the glasses out of Bede’s hand. “If it’ll get you to shut up.” He jogged over to the door that led to the stadium’s entrance hallway. 

“Don’t get stomped on too badly!” Bede called after him. 

Hop made a face as the door swung closed behind him, and signalled to the league staff member waiting there that he was ready to go. He bounced on the balls of his feet as the defender was announced - “ _ our undefeated champion, GLORIA!” -  _ and took a deep breath when he was called. 

_ “The challenger -” _

Hop shoved the stupid glasses onto his face and stepped out. 

_ “-champion Gloria’s number one rival-” _

The crowd was cheering loudly as he stepped out. Gloria had her back to him - she was wearing the champion’s uniform and was doing silly poses for the crowd. 

_ “-accomplished trainer and newly-accredited pokemon professor-” _

Gloria whipped around suddenly, her mouth dropping open in shock. Hop settled in his place across from her in the center of the arena, reaching up to adjust his glasses and stare down his nose at her. 

_ “HOP!”  _

The crowd screamed, but Gloria just stood there, gobsmacked. 

“Hey,” he said, his heart pounding in his chest as he stuck out a hand for her to shake. “It hasn’t been that long, has it?” 

She just stared at him, not making a move to take it. “You’re back,” she said softly. He almost couldn’t make it out over the crowd. 

Hop dropped his hand. “I told you I wasn’t going to be gone forever,” he snapped, and then whipped around to stalk to his place outside of the center circle, the end of his lab coat billowing behind him. He had no idea what people would make of her refusing the pre-match handshake, but it only fueled his desire to win, for once. 

* * *

Gloria was off her game. Gloria was so far off her game that Hop was surprised they were in the same stadium. 

He’d started off with Dubwool, for old times sake. Dubwool historically wasn’t a great matchup against Gloria’s Cinderace, but Gloria had missed her cue to give commands several times, distracting Cinderace so much that Dubwool KO’d its opponent and made it out of that first matchup with only minor burns. 

He recalled Dubwool and sent out Feraligatr next, to show off his new partner. Feraligatr was pumped to be in a battle stadium, and did its absolute best to destroy Gloria’s Orbeetle. It did, and it was having a blast. 

She seemed to snap out of it by her third pokemon in, using her Cursola’s Perish song and Toxtricity’s Toxic to great effect, but she was already way farther behind than the undefeated champion of 7 years had any right to be. Hop would eat his new glasses if any challenger (even Bede) had managed to knock out more than 3 of Gloria’s pokemon in the last few seasons. 

Even battling defensively, Gloria was good - a true professional - but he gave it his all. His pokemon battled hard with him. His second-to-last pokemon Rillaboom knocked out her second-to-last pokemon, Toxtricity, but Rillaboom fainted from poison damage before Hop slip him a full restore. 

They each had one pokemon left. The crowd was screaming bloody murder, no unified chants making it out from the different factions. Hop shoved the stupid glasses up to rest on the crown of his head as he pulled up his last pokeball, a ball he almost never used in battle - it really just wouldn’t be fair, otherwise. “Zacian, go!” he ordered, as across the field Gloria ordered Zamazenta to do the same. “Okay, buddy, we can do this. Gloria’s down to just your counterpart and I know you can take - hey!” 

Zacian took off without a backwards glance at Hop’s peptalk, dropping its sword somewhere in the middle of the battle circle as it ran up to a bounding Zamazenta and started nuzzling its old friend. 

_ “Zacian and Zamazenta have both tackled - wait, no,”  _ the announcer said, voice filtering in from the stands.  _ “They appear to be...playing? Have both Professor Hop and Champion Gloria lost control of their pokemon? They don’t appear to be fighting each other. Perhaps they can’t?”  _

“They could if they wanted to,” Hop grumbled under his breath. “Oi, you two! We’re sort of in the middle of something here! I promise you can hang out later!” 

The two pokemon couldn’t appear to care less about their trainer’s desires as they reunited happily. Hop looked over to Gloria, who glanced from him to their cuddling pokemon and back again, but otherwise didn’t say anything. “Alright, fine,” Hop said. “I’ll ask again in five minutes, okay-” 

He was interrupted by the loud sound of the foul buzzer. Hop glanced up at the big screen to see how the officials could possibly get a foul out of this, but only saw the words  _ Champion Gloria: Disqualified  _ flashing across in bright red. “What-”

“Hop!” Gloria called, running straight through the middle of the center circle and tackling him into a hug. 

He stumbled backwards under the sudden weight, trying to figure out what was happening. Trainers weren’t allowed to step foot inside the center circle while pokemon were battling. Gloria would have lost the match the moment she set foot inside. “Gloria, what are you doing, your record-”

“Sod my record,” she said, squeezing him as tightly as she could. 

Hop wiggled his hands free and made the sign for  _ I forfeit  _ in the general direction of the official’s booth twice. “Surely you can’t mean that. It’s the start of the season, you can’t lose to me  _ now-” _

“My best friend came home.” She readjusted her hug so that her arms were now directly around his chest. “Hop...” she started again, but her voice broke in the middle of his name.

Any animosity he might still be carrying towards her vanished on the spot. He threw his arms back around her without even thinking about it, squeezing hard to even pick her up and twirl her around a spin. His fake glasses flew off, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that she was back in his arms, squeezing him like she was afraid he would vanish if she let go.

He put Gloria back down again, who looked up at him like she was doing her best not to cry on live television. He readjusted his embrace so that his arms were on her shoulders, doing his best to block her face from the cameras and crowd. “Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he soothed. “It’s fine. I’m right here.” 

“You graduated!” she said. “I’m so proud of you, Hop. I missed you like crazy, you don’t understand, I’m so sorry about everything-”

“I forgive you,” he said instantly. “You’re still my best friend too, you know?” 

She blinked, her lips twitching as she tried to smile. “We haven’t spoken in months.” 

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Gloria, I shouldn’t have punished you like that. I’m fine just being friends. Really, I promise.” 

In the background, the announcer had stalled out in unprecedented confusion. The crowd, meanwhile, and devolved mostly into wolf-whistles. Gloria nodded to him one last time before pulling away from the hug, turning towards the official’s booth and making a hand sign he didn’t recognize. 

_ “Here’s one for the record books, folks,”  _ the announcer said.  _ “Champion Gloria is asking for a draw. Officials are still checking the rulebooks to see if a challenger can forfeit a match their opponent has already been disqualified from-” _

“I AGREE TO A DRAW!” Hop shouted, hoping the field mics would be enough to pick him up. “DRAW IS REALLY THE BEST CASE SCENARIO FOR ME HERE!” 

Gloria threw him a look over her shoulder that was one step away from a giggle. 

“What a mess,” Hop said to her. “Well, you’ve got opening ceremonies to get to, right?” 

She reached out to grab him by the elbow. “Walk out with me,” she said, jerking her head in the direction of the defender’s entrance.

“Can’t,” he said regretfully. “All my stuff’s on the other side, I came straight from the boat. We’ll catch up afterwards, yeah?” 

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said, and stuck out her hand. 

He shook her hand quickly for the traditional post-match handshake (which felt a little pointless after their hug, but whatever) and then whistled back in Zacian’s direction. “Hey, they need the pitch now! You’ll have time to catch up later, I promise!” 

Zacian licked the side of Zamazenta’s head one last time before bounding back over to him, picking up its sword on the way. 

“I hope you’re happy with yourself,” Hop mock-scolded as they walked back towards the field entrance. “Ah, who am I kidding? Of course you missed your friend. I’m sorry I didn’t think about that earlier. I was so caught up in my own human stuff, you know?” 

Zacian sent him a look down its nose, as if to suggest exactly how much stock it put in silly human stuff (very little). 

“We’ll hang out again with Gloria and Zamazenta more,” Hop said. “Tonight, probably.” Zacian dipped its head in acknowledgement, and Hop summoned it back in the pokeball before it would have to squeeze itself and its sword through the narrow halls. 

* * *

Bede was the first to jump on him as he entered back into the locker room. “You lucky bastard,” he said. “I gave you those glasses for wooing and you actually had a go at defeating the undefeated champion-”

“Sod off,” Hop said, reaching up to his head for the glasses. “Oh, I think I dropped them. Sorry about that.” 

“Hop!” Raihan called out, jogging over and saving Hop from what would be another awkward conversation with his old rival. “Man, that was incredible. I think they are going to mark it a draw - Gloria’s never had one of those. They have to reprogram the scoreboard.” 

“Hey, Raihan!” Hop greeted. “It’s nice to see you!” 

“You too, man!” Raihan said. “It’s good to have you back. How have you been?” 

“Pretty good,” Hop said. “I graduated, I let Leon talk me into a match, and I am super hyped up on caffeine right now - it’s 6 AM back in Johto.” 

Raihan laughed. “You can crash soon. Sticking around for the actual opening ceremonies?”

“Yup,” he answered. “I’m staying with Leon until I get my own place, plus I’m going out with Gloria after this to catch up.” 

“Going out with Gloria?” Bede echoed, barging back into the conversation. 

Hop frowned at him. “Wasn’t talking to you.” 

“Like I care,” Bede said. “Tell me more about your intentions with our champion.” 

Absolutely none, but like hell if Hop was going to tell Bede the obnoxious arse that. “None of your business.” 

“Places!” a League staff member called from the hallway. 

Raihan clapped Bede on the shoulder. “We...better get going,” he said, throwing a look between Bede and Hop. “Nice seeing you, Prof!” 

“You too, Raihan,” Hop said, “Bede, you’ve got a weird vibe. Not looking forward to seeing you again.” 

“Whoa,” Raihan started. “I’m all for a good rivalry, boys, but keep it-”

“Like I care what you think,” Bede interrupted, staring straight at Hop. “Have a nice date.” 

“It’s not a date!” Hop shouted, but Bede was already dragging Raihan away to stand by their places for the opening ceremonies. Milo, the only other gym leader in the locker room, gave him a look with a small smile as he passed, but Hop just waved back before collapsing on the bench. 

“This is not a date with Gloria,” Hop repeated to himself in the now-empty locker room. “She rejected me. This is just two old friends catching up, okay? This is not a date. We cannot go falling in love with her again. It never works out.” 

_...again?  _ A traitorous voice in his head in his head questioned. It stupidly sounded like Bede.  _ Did you ever stop? _

“I’m over her,” Hop said to himself. “Of course I’m over her. And I’m going to get a newer, better girlfriend, one who thinks we  _ are  _ meant for each other.” 

Stupid Bede, putting stupid thoughts in his stupid head. Hop changed out of his uniform slowly and waited for the opening ceremonies to finish. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to Postwickshipping week! Today's prompt is cold nights/warm nights, and this happened to line up a bit =)

After the opening ceremonies, both Hop and Gloria ended up going to a pub with Leon and most of the rest of the gym league. Hop spent so much time catching up with the whole crowd of people he didn’t have that much time with Gloria individually. 

Gloria, for her part, was hanging out with Bede and Marnie mostly. “Hey, Hop,” Marnie said when he wandered over. “Great match today!” 

Hop shrugged. “Luck, mostly.” 

“Stop it,” Gloria said instantly. “You’re a good trainer, and your new pokemon are in really fine shape-”

“Nah, it was luck,” Bede interrupted. 

Marnie rolled her eyes, and slapped Bede lightly on the shoulder. “I need another drink, you great lout,” she said. “Come up and grab one with me?” 

“Sure,” Bede said, and winked maliciously at Hop as he and Marnie left to go up to the bar. 

Gloria blew a small raspberry as they walked away. “I’m sorry about him,” she said. 

“Yeah,” Hop agreed. “Hasn’t changed a bit, has he?” 

“He’s gotten better,” she defended. “We’re kind of friends, now, actually. He’s just in rare form tonight.” 

He sent her a doubtful look. “You can keep him.” 

Gloria snorted, shoving Hop’s shoulder playfully. He willed his heart rate not to speed up at the brief contact. “You’ll get used to each other.”

“No promises.” 

“So, we should maybe set-up a playdate, huh?” Gloria said. “Zacian and Zamazenta seemed to really miss each other.” 

“Oh, for sure,” Hop said. “I’m still getting settled, so my schedule is all up in the air. What time would work for you?” 

Gloria blinked up at him, and Hop realized suddenly that they’d been leaning in closer and closer to each other this entire conversation. He was close enough that he could count the freckles on her nose. He cleared his throat suddenly and leaned back, trying to subtly work his way out of her personal space. 

“Hop,” Gloria said, her voice breathy. “Maybe Zacian and Zamazenta have been apart for too long already. Maybe they want to make up for lost time as fast as possible. Maybe they’ve realized that they made a mistake-”

Hop jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder. “Bro!” Leon greeted. “Finally found you. You look dead on your feet.” 

“I am super lagged,” Hop said. “I could use a good night’s sleep.” 

“You got it,” Leon said. “Oh, hey Gloria. Sorry to steal my brother away.” 

Hop didn’t think Lee sounded particularly sorry, but Gloria nodded anyway. “Hi, Leon. Thanks for setting up the match, it was...fun.” 

“Text me about our pokemon!” Hop said to her before Leon led him away. “Bye!” 

“Goodnight!” Gloria called back. 

Hop followed his brother outside. “Sorry for the late rescue,” Leon said, as soon as they were out of earshot from everyone else. “I came as soon as I noticed your situation. I know you’re still on the fence about her.” 

“Actually, I think the battle worked,” Hop said. “Got all the bad feelings out. You were right, Lee. Now we can actually be friends.  _ Just  _ friends.” 

His brother smiled. “I didn’t say anything.” 

“You didn’t have to,” Hop said. “I know you were thinking it.” 

“You don’t know what I was thinking.” 

“Just friends,” Hop repeated. “It is possible, because I already know she doesn’t see us together long term.” 

Leon furrowed his brows. “She’s an idiot.” 

“Thanks,” Hop said dryly. 

“Let’s get you some sleep,” Leon said, and led Hop back to his townhouse.

* * *

Living in Galar again takes some readjustment. He fits in after several long years of standing out - his accent matches everyone else’s, he eats the same foods and drinks the same drinks. He visits his parents and makes himself at home in Leon’s guest room, deciding to put off the big decisions about where to live and where to work for a few weeks while he takes it easy. 

A part of him would like to live in Wyndon; set up his own pokemon lab, here, in the centre of the action. Leon is here, and - well, Gloria is here. 

_ (He’s over her. It’s been months, he has to be).  _

He tries to picture other places, but the idea of going pack to Postwick makes his stomach turn a little. Motostoke is a big city, right on the edge of the wild area - Hammerlocke is, too.

He puts off the decision, and leaves Leon’s place only for small errands, or to let his pokemon out in the local park. People recognize him from his big match with Gloria. The champion’s rival, they say. A Professor now, right? What does a Professor do when he’s not battling? 

Gloria doesn’t text him to set up that playdate for their pokemon. 

He does get a text from Marnie, asking for his expertise in regards to Pokemon habitats. He jumps at the idea of a long weekend in Spikemuth before he can think twice. 

* * *

“There’s not enough sun,” he said. 

Marnie pursed her lips. “I know that,” she said. “But Spikemuth doesn’t get a lot of sun, if you haven’t noticed.” 

“It’s a grass type.” 

“It’s a dark type.” 

“Shiiiiiiftry,” Marnie’s new Shiftry said.

Hop patted the Shiftry on the head, and it closed its eyes and sighed as he hit a sweet spot behind the ears. “It is a dark type,” Hop acknowledged. “Lack of sun won’t hurt it. However, getting a good amount of sun will help boost its energy.” 

“Help him be fast,” Marnie muttered to herself. “But won’t getting sun make it more difficult for it to use dark-type attacks?” 

Hop shrugged. “I don’t know off the top of my head,” he said. “You’re the trainer. In my professional opinion, though, I think it’d be happier getting a bit more sun than it does now.” 

“Understood,” Marnie said. She threw Shiftry a treat before summoning it back to its ball. “I suppose I’ll have to go venture to sunny spots myself now.” 

Hop stuck his hands in his pockets. “You didn’t need me to tell you all that.” 

“It’s nice to have a professional opinion,” Marnie said. “Old friends and all that. Speaking of, do the rest of us rivals get a grand battle, or is that honor reserved for Gloria only?” 

The corner of Hop’s mouth twitched upwards. “Rivals?” he said. “That’s a bit of a stretch. We barely battled each other.” 

“Oh, come on,” Marnie said. “It was at least twice.” 

That sounded right, but Hop could really only remember once with any detail: he’d been stumbling into Spikemuth just as Marnie was exiting. She’d ordered the front doors to be opened -  _ “Don’t get excited,”  _ Marnie had said. _ “It’s not for you. Piers was going to open them anyways.”  _

He’d gotten excited anyways.  _ “Have you seen Gloria?”  _ he’d asked.  _ “I could use a good warm-up before the gym.”  _

Marnie had blinked.  _ “She left for Hammerlocke a while ago,”  _ she’d said.  _ “If you’re looking for a battle, I’m here.”  _

“If we were rivals, it was decent of you to let me into Spikemuth,” Hop said. 

Marnie shrugged. “I’d already let in Gloria, and she was the real competition, wasn’t she?” 

“That’s true,” Hop admitted. 

“It’s been a long time since you were here, though,” she said. “Since we’re done with business, fancy a tour of the town? We’ve expanded.” 

“Alright.” 

Spikemuth had grown in the years Hop had been away - outwards a bit, but most notably underground, where a collection of bars, stages, and shops had grown in. Marnie wasn’t one for too many words, but he still enjoyed their walk. It was the most he could remember ever hanging out with her one-on-one in a single sitting. 

“Spikemuth’s got character,” Hop said, as they were circling back to where they started. “Say, do you know if the town’s got room for a Pokemon professor?” 

Marnie shot him a confused look. “Is Professor Sonia moving her lab here?”

“Oh, no,” he admitted. “It’d just be me. I was thinking of opening up my own lab.” 

“That sounds great,” Marnie said. “But there are bigger places than Spikemuth? I know Gloria would love it if you set up in Wyndon.”

Hop’s head snapped to hers. “Did she say that?” he barked, and then blinked and ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know, uh, that she was mentioning me to people.” 

“Oh, Gloria is  _ thrilled  _ that you came home,” Marnie said. “Almost every single anecdote she tells as you in it, which is impressive seeing as you haven’t seen each other in a few years.” 

He tried his best not to blush. “Uh-huh, yep. Well, we were neighbors, and all.” 

“Oh, maybe you could be again!” she suggested, and pulled her rotom phone out of her pocket. “Here, I’ll text you Gloria’s address. Maybe there’ll be a flat near her building-”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he interrupted quickly. “I wouldn’t want to presume-”

“You should go visit her!” Marnie said, texting. “I’ll let her know - oh, she’s free tomorrow night. I’ll let her know you’re going to stop by?” 

Hop’s mouth suddenly went completely dry. “Um…” 

“She’s expecting you at 6:30,” Marnie announce, still texting on her phone. “You said you were free whenever, right?” 

“Technically,” he said. “But she didn’t invite me herself, so I don’t want to force her into anything.” 

Marnie looked up, catching his eye. “Hop,” she said. “Trust me. I’ve been friends with Gloria for a long time. She really, really, really wants to see you.” 

He let out a shaky breath. “Okay,” he said. “Tomorrow night it is, I guess. It might be nice to reconnect.” 

Marnie’s eyebrow twitched. If Hop didn’t know better, he’d almost say she was repressing a smirk. “Reconnect,” she echoed. “Right.” 

* * *

He texted Gloria around noon the next day to confirm their plans  ~~_ Hey. _ ~~ _ Hi.  _ ~~_ It’s me _ ~~ _~~.~~ Is 6:30 today still good with you?  _ ~~_ If you don’t want to _ ~~ _ I know Marnie kind of sprung this on us.  _

She answered right away.  _ Yeah! 6:30 works. Want me to make dinner? _

Hop stared at the screen, imagining Gloria cooking dinner, at her place, for him. Gloria, cooking, period - they hadn’t done anything like that since they were properly dating as teenagers and used to cook campfire dinners together. They’d never been properly domestic- 

_ (“I’ve perfected my egg sandwich recipe last year,” Gloria said, five minutes before she told him she didn’t see a romantic future together. “I’ll have to show you sometime-”)  _

He closed his and shook his head violently like he could shake away the thought like a fly stuck in his hair. It didn’t work; the feeling didn’t go away.  _ No, thank you,  _ he texted back to Gloria.  _ I’ve got dinner plans with Leon, so I’ll have already eaten. We can just let Zacian and Zamazenta catch up.  _

Gloria took a five minutes to respond back to that.  _ Okay. See you at 6:30! _

He stared at her message for quite a bit longer than necessary, and then went back to researching what kind of space was available for a PokeLab in Wyndon. 

* * *

He did get a text from an unknown number about ten minutes later.  _ R U free rite now? _ He didn’t answer it; he didn’t particularly feel like talking to a person right now, especially as it was probably a wrong number. 

20 minutes later, the same number texted again  _ wanker,  _ so he felt as though he dodged a bullet. 

* * *

Gloria had the money to probably live anywhere in the city - Leon, back when he was champion, had the penthouse suite of the tallest residential building Wyndon offered - but Hop smiled when he saw her place. It was a detached house in a quiet neighborhood, almost as far away from the bustling city centre as feasible. He skipped up to the front door and knocked. 

“Coming!” he heard Gloira call, and then the skidding of footsteps until she tore open the front door. “You made it,” she said, a little breathlessly, like she’d been running. “Hi.” 

She was in relaxed clothes, just jeans and a fluffy cardigan, and her hair was down and shiny in the post-sunset light. “Hi,” Hop said, stopping himself from visibly checking her out. “I love your place.” 

Gloira beamed up at him. “Thanks!” she said. “It’s a little far, but I think the quiet’s worth it.” 

“Oh, definitely,” Hop said. “It looks like you have a good amount of space. And a yard! Leon never had a yard.”

“Does Leon still fancy high-rises?” 

“Oh, yeah.” 

She ushered him in. Her house was brightly-colored and fairly tidy, and there  _ was  _ plenty of room, especially for just one person. “Staircase right in the front, huh?” he said. “Reminds me a little bit of my parent’s house.” 

“It’s a popular design,” Gloria said. “Do you want a quick tour?” 

“Of course,” he said. “How long have you had this place?” 

It was nice of Gloria to show him through the house. It was nicer of Gloria to stop and let him play a few rounds with her brand-new videogame console. 

“It’s the new version of the one from when we were kids,” she said, jamming buttons on her controller as she took out all the enemies on their left. 

“These  _ graphics,”  _ Hop enthused. He hadn’t played any version of the game in ages, but they’d played this for hours and hours together as teenagers, and some muscle memory was still there. “And there’s so many more character options!” 

“I know,” she said. “It’s actually kind of perfect that you’re here. I can earn all the co-op trophies.” 

“No gaming buddies up here?”

“I got my mum to try it,” Gloria said. “She hated it.” 

Hop laughed so hard his character fell off the platform it was standing on. “I wish I could have seen that. I can’t believe you talked her into it.”

“I’m a spoiled only child,” Gloria said. “My mum will try anything with me, once.” 

“That’s true,” Hop said. “She wore that awful Wooloo wool scarf you made during your knitting phase-”

“Oh, that’s right!” she said. “And you wouldn’t!” 

“It would have strangled me!” 

“I put so much effort-”

“It was so itchy - and  _ pink -”  _

“I bought pink wool!” 

“Maybe I should take up knitting,” he mused. “I’ve always gotten along great with Wooloos, and yours tried to get itself killed in the Slumbering Weild-”

She dropped her controller in order to pick up a pillow off the couch and whack him with it. He laughed and raised his arm up in defense. 

“Look what you did,” Gloria chided, lowering the pillow and looking at the screen. “We lost the level.” 

He kept staring straight at her, glowing in the bright light of the TV screen, and felt his heart skip a beat inside his chest. 

She turned to him. The artificial light truthfully made her look a bit washed out, but his throat still tightened at the sight of her. They weren’t far apart, it would be so easy to lean forward and-

His Rotom phone buzz against his leg. He pulled it out and glanced at the text message, and- “holy cow, mate, it’s already 10 o’clock. Leon wants to know when I’ll be home.” 

She blinked and leaned back a little, like she was pulling herself out of a daze. “Oh, no, that flew by.” 

“Tell me about it,” he said, standing up and stretching. “We didn’t even get out Zacian and Zamazenta, and I feel like we barely caught up.”

“Same,” she agreed. “You’ll have to come back. We have so many things to finish.” 

He bit his tongue hard, and turned away under the pretense of putting on his jacket so she couldn’t see his face. When he got his expression back under control, he said, “yeah, we’ll have to finish this level sometime. It’ll be nice to have a proper friend in the city that’s not my brother.”

She frowned. “Yeah. Friends. Hop…” 

He didn’t let her continue the thought. “Well, I best be going. Goodnight!”

“Already?” she said. “Do you want me to walk you-”

“No, that’s okay, it’s late, I’ll take the metro,” he babbled, slipping into his shoes and scrambling towards the front door like he was racing against something. “I’ll text you, bye!” 

“Bye?” she echoed. It sounded more like a question, but he closed the front door solidly behind him and started speeding down the sidewalk. Despite his words, he didn’t take the train home, opting for a long walk through the city. He called Leon as soon as he was out of eyesight of Gloria’s house. 

“Hullo?” 

“Lee,” he said urgently. “Lee, I have a problem. I was  _ so close.  _ I was like, on the line. Toes hanging over. I don’t think I can handle-”

“Whoa, Hop, slow down,” he interrupted. “What’s wrong? What happened?” 

“I saw Gloria again,” Hop answered. 

“And? Did she do something?” 

“She was herself,” he answered. “I’m doomed. I was five seconds away from asking her out.”

Leon let out a sigh on the other side of the line. “Do you want to ask her out?” 

_ “No,”  _ Hop answered, scowling at the sidewalk as he walked. “She’d just say no. Gloria always makes the first move - me asking would be a death sentence.” 

“Then don’t.” 

“You don’t understand,” Hop said. “You think I can help it? She’s like - she’s like a magnet. She’s like gravity. She’s like-”

“Slow down there, Romeo,” Leon said. “Maybe we can talk about this when you get home.” 

“I need a plan,” Hop said. “I need a plan now.” 

Leon buzzed his lips. “Maybe you’re just used to dating Gloria,” he said. “You just need to re-learn how to just be friends.” 

“Yeah,” Hop agreed. “Yeah, that sounds right. How do I do that?” 

“Treat her like a friend,” Leon answered. “Group hangouts only. Don’t text her too much. And most of all - this is important - you need to date other people.” 

Hop frowned, something inside him recoiling at the idea. “I’m not interested in anyone right now.” 

“Come on, buddy, I know you can.” 

“I’ve gone on dates with other people  _ before,”  _ Hop insisted. “You know, in Johto. I just, you know, haven’t met anyone-”

“I’ll set you up.” 

“I don’t need my brother to get dates for me!” 

“I’m only trying to help,” Leon said. “Just get home. We’ll talk about it in the morning, yeah?” 

“Okay,” Hop said reluctantly. “See you soon.” 

He spent the rest of his walk home brooding, slumped with his hands in his pockets and pouting up at the moon. Leon did little more than grunt when he came in, shuffling off to bed as Hop let himself back into the guest bedroom. 

_ I’m not in love with Gloria,  _ he told himself.  _ I can’t ask her out. She would make the first move if she wanted to ask me out - which she hasn’t, because she doesn’t. Because she doesn’t think we’re going to end up together. Because  _ she  _ broke up with  _ me. 

He didn’t sleep well. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a tiny bit of hinted Leon/Sonia

Hop slept in the next morning, so Leon was gone at work by the time he got up. Gloria texted him and asked if they could meet up for lunch. 

He answered yes, because he was a lighting bolt and she was the ground. Also, he must have been a bit of a masochist. 

(Not really. Being around her didn’t hurt at all.) 

(It was the opposite, actually, and that was the problem). 

* * *

He had to start being better after that. He’d spent a lot of lunch enraptured with her eyes in a way he knew a regular friend wouldn’t, so he pledged to himself to start taking Leon’s ground rules more seriously. 

_ Ground Rule 1: Group Hangouts Only  _

“Hey, Hop,” Gloria said, making him jump from where he was daydreaming behind the desk of a Pokecenter. “What are you doing here?” 

Hop smiled at her. “Oh, Joy had an emergency, I’m covering for her. Would you like me to heal your pokemon?” 

“Yes, please,” Gloria said, handing over six balls. He recognized about half of them from feeling alone. “I have to say, you make a very good nurse.” 

“I haven’t even done anything yet,” he groused, slotting the pokemon into the machine and pressing the entry button. One, two, three, and- “Here you are. Now you can compliment me.” 

She giggled as she took her pokeballs back. “My new favorite nurse, as a matter of fact,” she said. “What time do you get off? Would you like to exercise our pokemon together?” 

His mind blanked out all but the one rule: group hangouts. He needed a group, he needed someone so unromantic that there was absolutely no way anything could ever happen - “BEDE!” he blurted out. 

Gloria blinked. “Erm, what?” 

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, sure, we should totally do that, and we should invite Bede.” He paused after hearing the words coming out of his mouth, realizing he sounded a bit deranged. “And Marnie. And Piers, and Leon, and Sonia, and - everyone. We should invite everyone.”

“I guess we could do that,” Gloria said. “We could probably use Sonia’s lab as a base, take everyone out to the lake? That might be fun.” 

“Uh-huh,” Hop agreed. “I haven’t been out to the lake either, since I’ve been back.”

“Oh, well now we have to do it,” she said. “I’ll reach out to Sonia to see when a good day would be. But in the meantime…?” 

She let the question hang out in the air. Hop swallowed and looked around the rest of the Pokecenter - there was the staff manning the market, and a small smattering of people sitting down for a rest at the corner tables. It was public enough, he decided. “In the meantime, do you want to keep me company for the rest of my shift?” he asked. “If you don’t have any plans, of course.” 

Gloria beamed at him, her smile so big and beautiful it took his breath away. She hopped up to sit on the counter. “Consider my schedule clear,” she said. 

“Perfect,” he said, his voice a little husky, and then he cleared his throat again. “Ever seen the staff room of a Pokecenter before?” 

* * *

Hop coordinated with Sonia to have the celebration at Professor Magnolia’s house, which Sonia promptly turned into the welcome-back party she’d been dying to throw. He spent the entire first half of the party catching up with Sonia and Professor Magnolia about his academic progress, as well as getting advice on how to set up his own lab. 

“You’ve been in Wyndon, haven’t you?” Professor Magnolia inquired. 

“Yeah, I’m staying with my brother.” 

“You don’t have to stay in Wyndon, of course,” Sonia said. “You could come back to Wedgehurst!” 

“I have to think about it,” Hop said. 

“My dear boy,” Professor Magnolia said. “You’ve come so far since we first met. Do what excites you, and don’t let your doubts hold you back. If Wyndon is what you want-” 

“Gran,” Sonia hissed. “Let him decide for himself.” 

He forced his eyes not to wander over to any other party-goers. “I don’t know if Wyndon and I are the best fit.” 

“There’s not any rush,” Sonia said, grabbing Hop by the arm. “I’m sorry to run, but I’ve got to go parade the guest of honor around the circuit! Bye Gran!” 

“Thank you for stopping by, children,” Professor Magnolia said, as Sonia dragged him away with a surprisingly strong grip on his bicep. 

“Ow, ow, you’re pinching me.” 

“Sorry,” Sonia said. “Drat, now we actually have to go talk to people now.” She took a look around her party. “Gloria’s mum’s talking with your family. Oh, let’s go see Raihan, he’s on our side-”

“There’s no  _ sides,  _ Sonia,” he interrupted, exasperated. “Honestly, you and Lee both go so overboard on these things-”

“You are a baby scientist and must be protected.”

“I graduated,” Hop said. “I’m fine, honestly. I promise.” 

Sonia eyed him in suspicion. “Really promise?” 

“Yes, really promise,” he said, wrenching his arm free. “I’ll prove it. Where’s Gloria?” 

“That’s really not necessary. We can go talk to-”

He spotted Gloria grabbing a soda out of a cooler. Luckily, she seemed alone. “Gloria!” 

Sonia made a raspberry noise behind him, but he didn’t pay it any attention as he sped over to the soda cooler. He was able to talk to his ex-girlfriend without it being a big deal, and if Sonia thought otherwise than she and Leon must have been  _ gossiping.  _ “Gloria, hey,” he said, stopping next to her. “Nice to see you.” 

“Nice to see you too,” she answered. “Soda?” 

“Sure,” he said, accepting the drink she reached down to pull out of the box. “Hey, orange, my favorite.” 

“I know,” she said. “It is your party.” 

“Thank you and Sonia for that,” he said. 

“It was mostly Sonia.” 

“Speaking of,” Hop said, taking another step towards her side of the cooler so they could stand side-by-side, “I have some dirt I wanted to run by you.” 

“Oo, tell me,” she said immediately. 

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions,” he said, “but Lee and Sonia have been talking a  _ lot  _ recently. One keeps knowing things I’ve only told to the other.” 

“You think they’re banging,” she said instantly. She swiveled her head to pinpoint Sonia among the other party goers. 

“I didn’t say that!” he protested, but followed her gaze. Sonia and Leon were coincidentally huddled together at the edge of the lake, heads close in what looked like a whispered conversation. 

“You didn’t have to,” Gloria said. “Look how close they’re standing.” 

He was suddenly hyper-aware of his proximity to Gloria, the length of her body so close to his that he could feel the heat radiating off of it. “They’ve been friends for a long time,” he said weakly. 

Gloria turned to look up at him. She had to crane her neck. “You want to make a bet?” 

“I’m not betting on my brother’s sex life,” he said. 

“That’s right,” she said. “You’re living with him now, aren’t you? It’d be even more embarrassing when you lose-” 

He elbowed her lightly, which made her giggle as she exaggeratedly stumbled away. “Fine, fine,” she said. “No bets on Leon.” 

“Thank you,” Hop said, and took a long sip of his soda to hide his blushing cheeks. He avoided Leon and Sonia’s eyes as they both glanced in his direction. 

* * *

_ Ground Rule 2: Don’t Text Her Too Much _

After two weeks of lazing around, Hop starts looking for a lab space. In Wyndon.

“Here could be nice,” Sonia said, looking around at the office space they were taking a tour of. “It’s a good neighborhood.”

“Yup,” Hop agreed, taking another picture of the individual offices. There were a few, they didn’t seem equipped for research - He’d probably have to do any practical work with Pokemon down at the pokecenter. “Don’t know about how I feel about it being on the second floor, though. I was hoping for ground.” He typed a quick message to go to the picture and hit send.

"Are you annotating your pictures?" Sonia asked.

"A bit," Hop said. His phone buzzed in his hand and he tried to not look at the incoming message too quickly.

"This place has some potential," Sonia said.

His phone buzzed again, and he couldn't resist reading the incoming message right away this time. "No, think I'm going to pass," he said. "I'll keep looking."

Sonia made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat. "This is the 12th place in the last four days," she complained. "I wasn't planning on lab shopping this entire week."

"I'm sorry, boss-"

"Who are you texting?" she interrupted, sticking out her hand. "Tell me or hand over the phone. Is it your brother?"

He held his phone protectively against his chest. "None of your business."

"Because you know Leon has a terrible sense of physical space. You shouldn't be taking advice from him-"

"It's not Leon!"

"Who else texts you for twelve..." Sonia trailed off, tilting her head to the side as she studied him. "Oh. Oh, Hop, no. It's Gloria, isn't it."

"So what if it was?"

She smacked her hand against her forehead. "I  _ knew  _ it," she said. "Have you changed your mind? Are you going to ask her out again?"

"No," Hop said. "I still just want to be friends."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "But you're over her? Romantically? Not attracted to her at all?"

"That's two different questions," he protested. "Come on, let's get out of here, this building's way too hot anyways. I think I'm sweating."

_ "Professor Hop,"  _ she called, crossing her arms. "Tell me to butt out and I will, but this seriously seems counterproductive to what you're trying to do, and I don't want to see you get hurt again."

His phone buzzed again, and his fingers burned with the urge to go read it. "What do you want me to do, Sonia?" he asked. "Gloria's my best mate. She always has been. And she doesn't deserve to get cut off, just because - because - I get this stupid fluttery feeling in my heart whenever I talk to her. And because she's beautiful. She can't help that."

"Oh, kid," Sonia said, a sympathetic look passing over her face. "You'll be able to get over it in time. I promise."

_ Like how you got over my brother?  _ He bit his tongue to keep from speaking the words out loud.

"For now, you'll just need to ease yourself away a little bit," Sonia said. "Just to give yourself some space, you know?"

"I don't know how to make space from Gloria," he admitted. "We've always been all or nothing, you know?"

She let out a long sigh. "I don't want to tell you how to live your life," she said. "But I think you should let me set you up on a date."

A date - a date was the absolutely  _ last  _ thing he wanted. He didn't want to go on dates with anyone else. He wanted to find a lab. He wanted his best friend's opinion. Maybe he should just ditch Sonia and go around looking at places with Gloria, instead. He'd feel less guilty, and it'd be a fun...

It'd be a date.

"Fine," he said, feeling a little sick to his stomach. "If you think it would help, I'll try going out on a date."

"I do," Sonia said. "You're doing the right thing, Hop."

* * *

_ Ground Rule 3: Date Other People _

He took a picture of the bush he was hiding in and added it to his story. With all the light pollution, no stars were visible, but he managed to get some leaves backlit by a streetlight.

He ended up going out for dinner with some girl he'd met through a dating app. She had blonde hair and lips a nice shade of pink and when she'd leaned in to kiss him at the end of the night he  _ panicked.  _ Made up a fake professor emergency and dived into a bush before she could follow him. 

Pathetic, he was. 

His phone buzzed in his hand. It was Gloria.  _ Out late outside all by yourself?  _

_ Yup,  _ he messaged back.  _ Weather’s not bad.  _

_ You’re crazy. It’s freezing out,  _ she answered. A few seconds later, she added,  _ Need some company? _

His heart thumped painfully in his chest as he stared at the message. She was just being a good friend, right? They’d been this close before they even started dating, right? 

He couldn’t remember. They’d been children the last time they’d been friends without dating. His gaze drifted over to the call icon in the top right corner, and he imagined briefly calling her right now, putting an end to these thoughts forever.  _ “Gloria, we spend all our time together,”  _ he’d say.  _ “Just get out with it. Do you want to be my girlfriend?”  _

She’d stutter awkwardly and say no, of course. There’d been no tackle-kisses recently; if she wanted to date him, he’d definitely know. He was probably still the most definitive expert in the world on how to tell if Gloria wanted a person-

Oh, shit, his phone was ringing. He’d accidently pressed the call button he’d been fantasizing about. Gloria picked up instantly. “Hop?” 

He swallowed, trying to swallow his mopey mood down with the physical motion. “Hey, Gloria,” he answered, proud of how nonchalant his voice sounded. “How’s it going?” 

“I’m doing well,” she answered, sounding amused. “Home and warm tonight, at least, which is apparently more than I can say for you. Fancied a late-night walk?” 

“I had a date tonight,” he answered honestly. 

He heard something that sounded like static. It was several seconds before he could make out Gloria’s voice again. “Oh,” she said. “You’re not still on your date, are you?” 

“Nah, didn’t go well,” he answered. “We weren’t very good conversationalists. I couldn’t even tell you what we did talk about. Just not a match.” 

“Oh, well,” she said. “I’m sorry, I guess.” 

“Not your fault,” he said, and then wrinkled his nose. “Look, I’m sorry if this is awkward at all to talk about, given our...history, and all.” 

“I asked,” Gloria said softly. “Plus, it’s…” she paused again. “It’s been years.” 

“Right,” he said. “You’re still one of my best friends, Glo, but I wouldn’t want to make it uncomfortable at all-”

“It’s not,” she interrupted quickly. “You’re not. Um.” 

Hop swallowed down another irrational bout of disappointment back down to the pit of his stomach. Of course she wouldn’t mind. It had been years, and she hadn’t even wanted to properly get back together last time. Of course she was over him. Why would she mind?

“Well, good,” he said instead. “It’s good we can talk about anything. I’ll need someone that’s not my brother to help me judge dates with. I don’t know how adults are supposed to find people; going out with strangers is just awkward.” 

“Yeah, it is,” Gloria said on the other end of the line, her voice a little distant, like she wasn’t even properly paying attention. 

He sighed to himself and looked up through the bush at the moon. “I wish I could find someone a little like you, you know?” he said. “You’re easy to talk to. Always have been.” 

“I just remembered I left my oven on!” Gloria screeched into the phone, high-pitched and panicky. “Gotta go, bye!” 

“Good luck,” Hop said, but the call disconnected before he finished the second word. He pulled his phone back from his face and stared at his message chain with Gloria. His heart still hadn’t calmed down in his chest. 

_ Don’t make me hurt you,  _ she’d told him once.  _ You always do this.  _

“I’m sorry, Gloria,” he said, melancholy. There was no use lying to himself anymore. “I did it again.” 


	6. Chapter 6

He was pretty deep in the wild area when he found it - one of the last pokemon he needed to round out his Galar Pokedex. Or, more accurately, it found him. 

“Applin, nice!” he said, throwing out a Quick Ball on the off chance that it worked. It usually didn’t, not in a wild area this dense, but to his surprise the ball flashed green and clicked shut almost immediately after it connected. He summoned the pokemon back out on his own almost immediately, watching excitedly as the little dragon poked its eyes clumsily out of its apple. “You must have wanted a partner, huh?” he said. “I have a good feeling about you. I think we’re going to be really good friends.” 

Applin started purring softly, and Hop smiled even wider. “A really good feeling,” he said. “You and me are destined for great things.” 

* * *

“Hop? What’s going-”

“Applin is a little SHIT,” he shouted into his phone. “It tripped me into the POND and then ran away!” 

“You caught an applin?” Gloria asked. “Wait. How did an applin trip you? Aren’t they apple-sized-”

“It was deliberate and malicious,” he interrupted. “And then it scooted off towards yours. Are you home right now?” 

“No,” she said regretfully. “I’m at the Battle Tower.” 

“Darn,” Hop said. “Well, then, got to run-”

“I’m leaving now, though!” she interrupted. “I can meet you there, help you look?” 

“I’ll take any help I can get,” Hop said. “See you soon, then?” 

“Course,” she said. “Bye!” 

“Bye,” he replied, and started jogging towards Gloria’s house in earnest. Applin had only left a faint trail, but luckily it seemed to be heading in the same direction. He followed the lines of crushed grass and small excretions of apple juice all the way up to- 

“Oh, you fucker,” he swore, not hesitating to race up the lawn of Gloria’s house and start peeling the applin off the corner gutter pipe. “You’re just trying to make trouble for me, aren’t you? If you corrode her pipes...”

He trailed off as the loud sound of flapping wings filled the air behind him. He glanced back to see Gloria hop out of a flying taxi “Hey, Hop!” she greeted, closing the door of the taxi and nodding to the Corviknight flying away. “What are you doing here?” 

“I found the bastard,” Hop said, turning around to glare back at Applin, who had wiggled even higher up the pipe while his back was turned. “Oi! Where do you think you’re going?” 

“Oh, it’s here?” Gloria said, skipping forward until she was right behind him, looking up. “Is that it! Ooo, you caught a pink one!” 

“Don’t be fooled like I was,” he said, having to reach a hand up over his hand now to grab the applin and try to pry it off. “The reason it hides in an apple is for treachery.” 

“Oh, don’t be mean,” she dismissed. 

_ “Me,  _ mean?” he said. “I was pushed into a lake!” 

“I thought you said you were tripped?” 

“So you do remember!” he exclaimed, and finally wrenched Applin off the gutter. “Ha, got you! I win!” 

“Why was it running away?” Gloria said, reaching around Hop and offering her hands to the pokemon. Applin swiveled one eye in Hop’s direction as it slowly inched into Gloria’s palm. 

“Guilt,” Hop said, unrepentant. 

“Were you scaring it at all?” she said, raising a finger to pet the applin along its back. “There, there, little guy. Hop’s all bark and no bite.” 

“We were playing with a ball,” he said. “It just thought it’d be funny.” 

“It’s not a misdreavus,” she replied. “Look, it’s adorable. It’s got little yellow spots.” 

“It knows what it did,” Hop said, pulling Applin’s pokeball off his belt and offering it to the little guy. “Don’t you? You want to come back now or what?” 

“You don’t have to,” Gloria added, stroking Applin’s back once more. 

Applin looked at both of them, one in each eye, and then dove back into the pokeball. It clicked shut immediately. “Finally,” Hop said. “I’ve never dealt with such an unruly pokemon before.” 

“Must be powerful,” she answered. 

He sent her a doubtful look. “It’s a baby. It’s not above my trainer level.” 

She shrugged. “Maybe it thinks you’re a nerd?”

“Whoa!” 

Gloria’s face broke composure and she laughed, her voice chiming across the front lawn. “Oh, calm down, I’m just teasing.” 

“I fell in a pond this morning,” he said. “I’ve suffered enough.” 

“Fine, truce,” she said. “Say, Hop, what would you say to me asking you out?” 

His thought process, his exasperation, his entire system - they all ground to a halt. He was vaguely aware of his jaw dropping as his entire frame of vision suddenly tunneled on Gloria. 

She shifted on her feet, but otherwise continued on. “Asking you out, like a date,” she clarified. 

He closed his mouth and attempted to swallow. His mouth was suddenly bone-dry. “Ask - me -” he cleared his throat, brain scrambling desperately to put together a coherent sentence. “But you don’t want to go out with me.” 

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and frowned. “I do, actually,” she said. “Very much. A lot.” 

“You don’t...” he repeated, thoughts whirling through consciousness at roughly the speed of a hurricane,  _ Gloria Gloria Gloria Gloria Gloria,  _ dating Gloria, breaking up with Gloria, falling asleep texting Gloria late into the night. He knew Gloria, he had been  _ sure  _ she didn’t. He’d been so busy trying not to ask Gloria out... 

“Just let me ask now, then,” she said, taking a deep breath and placing a hand on each hip as if bracing herself. “Hop, I think you are a first-rate friend and a good man, and I have romantic feelings for you. I recognize you might not feel the same, but I’ve never been one to just sit around without giving it my all, so, Hop, would you like to go out with me?” 

He opened his mouth to affirm reflexively, and caught the words in his throat just in time. Of course he wanted to go out with her. Of course he wanted to be her boyfriend. 

But if they became a couple, they might break up. Again. And this time, there wouldn’t be a whole new continent’s worth of distractions to ease the blow. 

“...Hop?” Gloria added, timidly. He startled himself out of his thoughts and looked back up into her eyes. Her eyes were as much of a home to him as any hose had ever been, and he knew instinctively he couldn’t take another break-up. 

“Can I think about it?” he asked softly. 

She blinked. “Oh, erm. Yeah, of course.” 

“Thanks,” he said, still feeling a little detached from his body. “I’ll see you later, then. Bye, Gloria.”

She was still staring at him. “Bye, I guess,” she said. “I love you!” 

He squeezed Applin’s pokeball tighter in his hand. He opened his mouth to respond, closed it, waved awkwardly with his free hand, and then walked away. 

* * *

Of course Gloria loved him. They fit together so naturally, like puzzle pieces - they loved each other as easily as breathing. That didn’t mean she could just _say it._ Blurt it out like that. _Especially_ if she was just going to take it back in a week or in four years or however long they made it this time. 

If they were getting back together, they’d have to make it forever, this time. 

Hop stared down at Applin’s pokeball. “It’s not crazy,” he said to his pokemon, just picturing the little wyrm rolling its eyes at him. “If she’s allowed to tell me that she’s in love with me after zero dates, I’m allowed to ask her to marry me. Right?” 

Applin’s pokeball was boringly unresponsive, so Hop summoned Applin and placed it right on his lap. It immediately started squirming. “Hey, I know, hey,” Hop said. “I’m not too fond of you after that stunt you pulled this morning either. Just listen. There’s a folk story around these parts about Applins. How would you like to be Gloria’s pokemon?” 

Applin stopped wiggling, and blinked up at Hop. 

He smiled. “I’m going to ask her to marry me,” he repeated, more confident the second time. “And then you’re home free. Assuming she says yes, of course.”

* * *

Once he’d made the one decision, it was easy to make a bunch of others. He decided on a space for his new lab. He decided not to tell Leon, or Sonia, or any combination thereof - they were terrible at keeping secrets. He decided to also to buy a ring - something simple, for Gloria, who used her hands a lot at work. He went to a jewelry store by himself the next day and picked out the perfect band in almost no time. 

“A fine choice, sir,” the jeweler told him. “What size do you need?” 

Hop stared blankly at her. “Size?” 

“What ring size, sir?” the jeweler repeated. 

He had no idea. He’d had no idea rings came in different sizes - although it did make sense, come to think of it. “Um, I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Hop said. “Can I come back later?” 

The jeweler nodded. “Here’s my business card,” she said, sliding it across the counter. “Feel free to call back with the details, and I can get everything settled for you.” 

“Perfect,” Hop said, taking it and putting it in his wallet for safekeeping. “I’ll be speaking with you soon, I hope.” 

“Me too, sir,” the jeweler said. “Have a nice day!” 

Hop wandered out of the jewelry store a bit stumped. How on earth was he supposed to find out what Gloria’s ring size was? It’s not like he could just  _ ask  _ her. Gloria didn’t wear any jewelry, anyways - she might not even know herself. 

Maybe he could ask Gloria’s mum? He considered the idea for a second, before tossing that to the side as well. He hadn’t properly spoken with Gloria’s mum in years, and he didn’t know if she could be trusted with a secret. Or even if Gloria’s mum would approve of him- 

“Don’t worry about that right now,” he ordered himself out loud, cutting off the thought. There was no use going down that skwovet hole. If there was no one else to ask, maybe he’d be best off just ordering an average size and then exchanging it later - or returning it, if Gloria said no…was there anyone else who might know? He squeezed his eyes shut as he racked his brain. Who else was Gloria close to? 

Oh. Marnie. 

Marnie was probably Gloria’s closest female friend. And she wore a  _ ton  _ of jewelry, so she’d definitely know a thing or two about rings sizes. 

He pulled out his phone and messaged Marnie to ask how soon she was available to meet. 

* * *

They ended up in a cafe in Hammerlocke that afternoon. Marnie plopped herself down on the seat across from him at his table on the patio. “A little cold to be eating outside, isn’t it?” 

Hop shrugged - his jacket was fairly warm, so he wasn’t bothered. “Do you need us to move?” 

“Nah, I’ll live,” she said, leaning forward and drumming her fingers on the table. “So. You seemed urgent on the phone.” 

“Yeah,” he said, making sure to keep his voice steady, even though his heart was starting to race on the inside. “I’m going to ask Gloria to marry me.”

Marnie stared at him, eyes widening. “You what?” 

“I’m going to ask Gloria to marry me,” he repeated, and despite his best effort his voice shook a little with nerves. It was  _ real  _ now - he couldn’t take it back if he wanted to. 

“You’re joking.” 

“I’m not.” 

“Since when?” Marnie demanded. 

He stared off into the distance, contemplating the best way to answer. “I mean, we used to be pretend married when we played house back in daycare, so maybe it’s been brewing since then-” 

“Don’t be a wanker,” she interrupted. “Speak straight or I’m leaving.” 

“Fine,” he said. “Since yesterday.” 

Marnie jumped up out of her seat, the legs of her chair screeching against the patio as it got pushed back. “Hop, I swear to arceus, Gloria cannot take you messing with her right now-”

“Marnie, please, I’m being serious,” he said, reaching across the table. “Gloria asked me out yesterday.” 

She glared at him, and reluctantly plopped back down in her seat. “So what, you have to one-up her? You’re not even dating, you can’t seriously ask her to marry you after months of sending her mixed signals-”

“Mixed signals?” he interrupted. 

“Yes,  _ mixed signals,”  _ she spat. “Oh Gloria, go to this party with me, oh Gloria, I’m dating someone else, blah blah blah.”

“That’s not what I sound like,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We’re getting off topic.” 

“What topic?” 

“I love Gloria and I want to marry her,” Hop said, releasing his nose and looking straight at Marnie. “I’ve been in love with her since - I don’t even know how long, and time and distance haven’t made me stop yet, so - is it really so crazy? Would it really be so terrible for me to ask that to Gloria?” 

Marnie wrinkled her nose. “If you love her, why have you been blowing her off?” 

“I’ve been blowing her off because I love her,” Hop said. “She broke up with me, last time, and I didn’t want to push, and - I didn’t know she was interested in me again.”

“Didn’t know she was interested?” Marnie echoed. “She’s been doing everything short of throwing up smoke signals-”

“Well, I know  _ now,”  _ he interrupted. “And I want to do something about it. Obviously.” 

She let out a deep sigh. “Obviously,” she repeated. “Why are you telling me this, Hop?” 

“I thought you might know Gloria’s ring size,” he said. “And you seem like you can keep a secret.” 

Marnie cocked her head at him, the tips of her hair stirring slightly in the breeze. “You’re getting a ring,” she said. “This is the real deal.” 

“Of course it is,” he said. “It’s her. It’s always been her.” 

Marnie continued staring him down for what felt like an eternity, before she eventually added, “I know Gloria’s ring size.” 

* * *

He’d picked up the correctly-sized ring by the next morning. He immediately messaged Gloria  _ up for a trip to the Slumbering Wield? _

She answered back in 30 seconds.  _ Want to split a cab? _

* * *

The flight from Wyndon to Postwick was a bit less than an hour. Gloria has beaming at him the whole way. 

He didn’t want to give anything away too early, despite the ring box and Applelin’s pokeball burning a hole in his pocket, but it was more awkward to sit there in silence. “Hey,” he greeted stupidly, even though they were already in the air. 

Gloria’s eyes crinkled at the corners as her smile widened. “Hi.” 

He smiled back, because her joy was infectious. “Hi,” he said, and then realized he’d started to repeat himself. “Nice weather today. Warmer.” 

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I notice you’ve got a picnic basket.” 

Hop glanced down at the aforementioned basket resting at their feet. “Oh, that. Well. Don’t want to be sitting on the ground with our stomachs rumbling, do we?” 

“No we don’t,” she agreed, and smiled again. 

He looked away, out the window, because how was he supposed to not melt under that expression? “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course,” she said. “Thanks for inviting me.” 

“You’re always my first pick of people to invite places.” 

Gloria bit her lip for a second, and then burst out, “Ah, I can’t take it anymore. I know you probably wanted to do something all dramatic over the picnic-”

“Oi,” he interrupted. “It’s not dramatic, it’s appropriate to the situation-”

“-but it seems stupid to wait that long when we’re right here,” Gloria said. “Just give me your answer. Will you be my boyfriend again? Officially?” 

He hesitated.

Gloria’s smile slid off her face. “Seriously, enough with the drama, Hop. You asked me out, we’re about to have a picnic-” 

“I wanted to talk to you about that,” Hop said. “When we get there.” 

She scowled. “Are you saying the answer is  _ no?!  _ You’ve put us both in a cab taking us the whole region’s away from home and-”

“It’s complicated,” he interrupted. “I was going to explain-”

“What’s so complicated about it? You like me, you don’t like me, yes or no-”

“I don’t want to be your boyfriend  _ exactly,  _ but it’s in the same vein-”

“What the HELL does that mean-”

“MARRY ME,” Hop bellowed, and Gloria stilled instantly. 

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and shuffled around in the cab, putting the picnic basket on his spot on the bench so he could get down on one knee in front of Gloria. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as he settled down and reached for the ring and - and - ok, the ring box was actually really deep down in his pocket, and he could quite dig it out without getting up again, so he ditched that and pulled out Applin’s pokeball instead, summoning the pokemon with a flick of his wrist.

Applin squirmed in his grasp, but his eyes didn’t leave Gloria’s as he held out the pokemon to her. “I wanted to explain,” he said, suddenly breathless, his voice practically trembling. “I wanted to explain at the picnic, but you’re right, we’re here, and...I love you. I love you  _ so much,  _ I don’t think I ever stopped loving you even when I wanted to. Of course I want to get back together with out, but I want it to be forever, this time, and I know it’s a little sudden but,” he swallowed, his face heating up, “Gloria, will you marry me?” 

She inhaled raggedly, but didn’t move. Applin chirped in his palm, and her eyes suddenly flickered to the pokemon. Slowly, she reached up a finger to stroke against Applin’s apple. It immediately started purring. 

He swallowed, and Gloria’s gaze flew back to him. “I have conditions,” she said. 

“Name them,” he answered instantly. 

“Never leave me again?” 

His face broke out into a relieved smile. He met Gloria's eyes again, and she smiled slowly back at him. “Never,” he said. “I promise.” 

Gloria reached out and took Applin from his grasp. “Then, yes,” she answered. “But only if it’s forever.” 

“Deal,” he said, and then he rose to his feet as much as he could and kissed her. He kissed her like she was the the missing piece of his life's ecosystem, like suddenly his entire world was more balanced after her slotting into her rightful place. 

He kissed her until the Corviknight squawked at them for unbalancing their taxi, 

* * *

After awkwardly re-arranging his things again so he could sit next to her on the bench and giving her the engagement ring, the rest of their cab ride was peaceful. "Okay, that was a little dramatic," he ended up admitting. "I'm sorry springing the question on you like that. You definitely seemed surprised." 

"I was surprised," she admitted, "but I guess...not that surprised? It's you and me, Hop. It's just right." 

"Not that surprised?" he asked. "What, were you and I a foregone conclusion after all?" 

"Oh, don't get a big head about it," Gloria said, rolling her eyes, and he laughed. "Like I could ever forget you." 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone, it's been a great and crazy journey!

**Author's Note:**

> Technically an AU, since Gloria decides that she'd rather kiss Hop than battle him one last time.


End file.
